Something Precious
by hazelmom
Summary: Bobby has to battle Nicole for the most precious thing in his life. The romance begins. BA FINISHED
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi! I am Sheila and this is my first CI fic. I was supposed to be writing CSI right now, but got intrigued after the Law and Order CI marathon on New Years Eve. There is something about those two that intrigues me. They are both so isolated in their own ways, and so their connection is really potent, I think. I assume it will be BA romance, but the fic hasn't told me its moving in that direction yet. I hope you enjoy. I would love to hear from you.

Sheila

**Something Precious**

Chapter 1

A murder of a woman in a park; nothing remarkable, certainly nothing that should grab the attention of the major case squad. However, the case was not like any other. The victim was the rival of a certain Bettina Garcia; a woman who just happened to be Nicole Wallaces cellmate at Dannemora.

Bringing Nicole back from Dannamora seemed risky to Alex. Bobby always seemed to unravel just a little more than usual when she was around. Alex decided she would really keep a lid on Nicole's little games this time. She deliberately arranged to meet the transfer at the door, leaving Bobby pacing the squad room by himself. Nicole always came with challenges, and Bobby needed to keep his composure.

Alex met the blonde woman down at the entrance and went with her guards to the elevator. Nicole would always be beautiful. After two years in prison, she still looked liked the expensive blonde she had always been. Somehow, she came lip glossed and made up, and Alex wondered how she did it. When Alex put on lip gloss she usually chewed it off her lips within twenty minutes, and she was forever scrubbing under her eyes after eye make up that had drifted south. She always felt a twinge of envy when she saw Nicole. The woman was so effortlessly beautiful, and she knew that it rattled Bobby. As controlled as he tried to be, there was nothing like a beautiful woman to make him awkward.

Nicole smiled at her as if to a long lost friend, and Alex couldn't resist an impulse to roll her eyes.

"Alex," she said with such familiarity, "you look so…tired."

Alex smirked. "And you look so incarcerated. How's it going, Nicole?"

"A lot more stimulating than you might imagine." Nicole's accent was clipped and terse, and Alex suspected that she had touched a nerve.

"Well, I can't say we've missed you, but it's not the biggest surprise that you are once again gracing us with your presence." Alex took her by the elbow outside the elevator and steered her toward the interrogation room. She instructed Nicole's guards to settle her in the room and make sure that she was handcuffed to the table.

Then she turned to her partner who had his eyes on Nicole from the moment she emerged from the elevator. She walked up to him and put her hands on his chest. "Bobby, you need to focus. This woman is going to say something disturbing about your mother. She will comment on your abilities. She'll probably bring up the time she set it up for the doctor to take the fall, and how you fell for that, but you won't hear any of that 'cause you'll be too focused on what happened to Bettina Garcia. You understand?"

Bobby looked down at her. "I hear you, boss."

"Okay, I'm going to run this thing. You hear?"

"Geez, Alex, I think I can handle myself in there." His indignation was tempered with a tenderness toward her intentions.

She smiled. "It's about Bettina Garcia in there. Got me? Let's find out what Nicole's up to these days."

Nicole smiled brightly for both of them, and Nicole knew that the sociopath lived for these sessions in the interrogation room. Goren circled her and planted himself in the corner of the room. Alex sat herself casually across from the woman.

"I am so glad to see you all. It has been such a struggle to find intelligent conversation on my unit. Even the guards talk like women who know nothing more challenging than happy hour at the local pub. Thanks for bringing me down." Nicole relaxed back in the metal chair.

Alex smiled. "Seeing you is like penance. We gotta do it 'cause someone higher up tells us we have to."

Bobby snorted. Nicole turned her attention to him. "I've missed you."

He chuckled again. "That's like hearing from an STD you've been trying to beat."

Nicole leaned back and laughed. "You are both such comedians."

Alex sighed and spoke, "You ever heard of a woman named Roberta Jones?"

Nicole looked around the room. "I don't know. Maybe."

"You remember Bettina Garcia, right?" Bobby was leaning toward her on the table.

"I know 'Tina."

"She got released two weeks ago. We can't find her. Roberta Jones was killed two nights ago. You sure you don't remember her name?"

Nicole narrowed her eyes at Bobby. "So a murder happens within a hundred miles of my location, and I get pulled in. I'm flattered, sort of, but I really have not been that busy."

Alex slapped the table and grabbed her attention. "Do you know where Bettina is staying?"

Nicole leaned forward and smiled at Alex. "I don't know where Bettina is, but I do know something I think you might like to know, detective."

Alex sat back, unsettled. She was not prepared for another one of Nicole's surprises. She always directed those at Bobby.

Nicole saw the surprise in her eyes and smiled. "I've met someone who knows your nephew; the child you gave birth to."

Alex drew in breath sharply. Bobby turned to her. "She's trying to rattle you. Remember that. It's a game. Nothing more."

Alex nodded. Nicole smiled. "I have never met the little guy, but I did meet someone who has. I hear he is in a daycare in Brooklyn. Little People. I know someone who also has their child there. Do you remember a Robert Zinsky?"

Alex slammed her fists on the table and stared at Nicole. No sounds came out of her mouth.

Nicole smiled. "He has a four year old. Her name is Reina. They call her Ray-Ray. I hear she plays with Nathan. Very patient with him. Afterall, he is two about now, right?"

Alex rocked back in her chair. Bobby could feel the energy from his partner, and he reached out to steady her. Alex was out of his reach in an instant, and on her feet. She looked at Nicole for another minute, her eyes wide and bright, and then she bolted from the room. Bobby stared after his partner for a moment and then turned to Nicole. "You don't win this time. You're becoming derivative. We've come to know you too well."

"Bobby, don't you ever wonder why she has never called you Robert? It's Bobby or Goren for her only; must be something about the name Robert." Nicole smiled widely at him, and Bobby resisted the urge to reach out and slap her. Instead, he turned and ran out of the room after his partner. He looked around the squad room, and she was no where to be found. He cursed in frustration, and ran for the door. He found her in the stairwell on her cell phone. She was speaking in urgent tones to her sister. He could make out entreaties to get the child immediately and bring him home. A whispered argument followed with Alex threatening to drive down to Brooklyn and pull him out herself. The name Robert Zinsky was brought up, and the tones lowered after that. Alex finished the call, and dropped her head back against the concrete wall behind her.

Bobby waited while she caught her breath. He spoke softly, "Alex, I need to tell me what's going on."

She looked up, startled. "Did you leave her alone?"

He shook his head. "She's not going anywhere."

"You should go back in there. She shouldn't think she's got us worried."

He put out his arm. "She needs to see both of us."

Alex shook her head. "I don't think so. I go back in there, and I'll kill her. It's as simple as that. I go back in there and she dies."

Bobby's eyes widened and he took a deep breath. "Alex, I need more information. I'm in the dark here. Who's Robert Zinsky?"

She ran a hand over her face. "Not now, Bobby. Not now."

He looked at her for a minute, and then turned and walked back up the stairs. She didn't leave the stairwell until he came back and told her Nicole was on her way back to Dannemora.

………………………………………………………………………………….

Alex paced back and forth in her sister's kitchen while her sister and brother-in-law questioned her about the circumstances of her frantic phone call. She tried to stay patient with it although they acted like she virtually published details about Nathan's schedule around the five boroughs. Her cell buzzed and she was happy to pull it off her belt and plant it on her ear. Bobby's voice was no less insistent about details of what happened. She decided she needed to trade one inquisition for another, and told her sister there was a work emergency. Her sister was on her feet and angry, but Alex assured her that their mother was more than willing to take Nathan until another daycare situation could be found. As she left the house, the voice of her brother-in-law sounded, asking her how long it would be before another crisis would force them to find yet another daycare for their son. Alex closed her eyes and fled the house.

She met with Bobby at an all night diner near her home in Brooklyn. She looked weary to him, and he tried to temper his anxiety. He ordered coffee for her, and then told her there was a plate of eggs, bacon, and hash browns coming for her. She smiled a little and said nothing. She hadn't eaten since morning, and appreciated his ability to remember the little things she liked.

He waited until the food came and let her eat. He tried to throw in little comments, things that might amuse her, but there was a tension in the air and most of what he had to say fell flat.

Alex looked up at him, her blonde hair falling across her face. He waited for her to toss her head and she did. It always reminded him of defiance when she did that, and he liked it. She took a deep breath and managed a smile, "I know I am going to have to tell you everything, but you need to understand how hard this is for me. It was a long time ago, and I am ashamed of it, and I have worked really hard to grow beyond it. I don't talk about this with anyone."

Bobby nodded but said nothing.

"I was 19 when I met him. He was working Narcotics with my older brother, and he took my breath away. I mean…I couldn't see anything else when he was in the room. He was 30, and handsome and a hero on the squad. The stories I heard about him were amazing."

Alex reached for her coffee cup, but it was empty. Bobby signaled the waitress and patiently waited until she had taken a sip of hot brew. She smiled at him, but he could see the pain in her eyes.

"He told me that he was separated when we got involved. Had a wife and two kids, and he said that she had been cheating on him. I believed him. I believed everything he said. I was pre-law at the time, but switched to criminal justice. The lure of his life was too much. I graduated at 21, and got assigned to his squad after only six months in uniform."

She took another sip and stared off into the distance. "The first time he beat me up was after a raid where he shot a man dead. I didn't do something he wanted and that was all it took. Afterward, he explained that the stress of killing a man had been too much, and I should have known not to provoke him. I believed him."

Bobby tried to temper the anger rising in him.

"The second time, he broke my jaw, but I fought back this time. I found out he was seeing his wife. I also found out that she knew nothing about Robert's little girlfriend. I left him and moved in with my mom and dad. Within weeks, I was characterizing it as a mutual fight; was telling people I gave as good as I got. He showed up, and said that he filed divorce papers. Showed them to me. Said he couldn't live without me, and so I went back to him."

Bobby wished she would look at him. He wanted to show her that he felt no judgments. He didn't say anything though; he didn't want to interrupt the fragile flow of her confession.

"The third time was the worst, and I don't remember the reason we fought. I just know that I work up in the hospital with broken ribs, collarbone, and bruised kidneys. My face was a Picasso. My brother, bless his heart, told me he was kill him if he ever saw the two of us in the same room again, no matter what I wanted. I didn't argue with him, but I also didn't file charges. He was too connected. I didn't feel like I had a leg to stand on. Plus, you can't imagine my embarrassment."

Alex let out a breath and stared at the table for a moment. She could feel Bobby shifting, ready to talk, but she raised her hand to stop him. "I never went back to him, but we still worked the same squad. Big mistake. He started to harass me. I got a restraining order and got kicked back to walking a beat. One night I stumbled on a drug buy, and I was alone. I called for back up, and Robert was the closest. He never came. I was covering three guys who were not intimidated by the 22 year old girl holding the gun. They finally charged me and I had to shoot. I wounded two of them and the third got away. An investigation followed, and Robert said I was so rattled in my call that I gave him the wrong coordinates. I was the female who panicked. No one could trust me anymore. The tape of the call got "accidentally" erased. IAB ruled it righteous, but I got put on probation pending further investigation." Her eyes connected with his for the first time in minutes. "Robert made a mistake though. He dumped his new girlfriend in dispatch too quickly and suddenly a copy of the erased tape reappeared. The coordinates were good and Robert got transferred out of Queens. I never saw him again. Last I heard he moved to Philadelphia."

"He blamed you for all his problems," Bobby said with certainty.

Alex nodded.

"Nicole is telling you he's back."

"And near my nephew," she said grimly.

"You ran a search?"

"He's a Lieutenant, Queens Narcotics."

"Your old unit?"

She nodded. "You bet. He waltzed back in the same unit he got bounced from 15 years ago."

"You're going to go see him, aren't you?"

She couldn't meet his eyes for a moment. "I'm not afraid of him anymore, Bobby."

He shrugged. "That's great. When are we going?"

"No," she shook her head emphatically. "I have to face him alone."

"Alex, you forget who set this up. We don't go solo when Nicole's in the game."

"It'll look like I can't handle it."

"It'll look like you're a detective from the Major Case squad dropping in during a routine shift with your partner."

Alex rubbed a hand over her face. "You're not going to give me a choice, are you?"

Bobby put out his hand. "Come on. You need to go home. I'm your partner. I have your back and you have mine. That's how it works."

She let him pull her to her feet. "Bobby…"

"You were young, Alex, and you made the best of a bad situation. And you learned. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

Alex sighed deeply. "I've been saying that to myself for fifteen years."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, just borrowing for my nonprofit pleasure.

A/N: I am glad so many people are liking this. Writing for me is sort of organic. I may plan it out ahead of time, but who knows what will happen when it comes time to write the words. Since I am new to this fandom, I have only seen about half the episodes. I understand that there was an Nicole ep. to start this season. I have no clue what happened in that ep. What is Nicole's current status on the show? Also, I am wondering if anyone can tell me what happened at the end of the Wee small hours. I understand that Eames was on the stand and said some things, and they discussed it afterward. Please e-mail me at if you have info on these things. I will try to be as close to canon as possible. Thanks for writing reviews. I am happy to read each and every comment.

Sheila

Something Precious

Chapter 2

Alex felt it deep in her gut the minute she walked into the precinct. It filled her with memories, some good and some bad. She felt Bobby standing at her right shoulder, and was glad he was with her. It amazed her how many familiar faces still floated around the old building. She nodded at several, and noted that more than a few just stared back at her. She saw the desk sergeant schmoozing with some patrol officers, and she smiled. Ryan had manned that desk for the last twenty five years. There wasn't a street in Queens he didn't know intimately. Every cop that walked through this precinct house dealt with old Frank Ryan. She hoped to catch his eye; she had fond memories of his gruff but concerned demeanor and all the good-natured teasing he had sent her way.

Frank Ryan did look up, but it wasn't the warm look she was expecting. His craggy face wrinkled into a distinct frown as his gaze turned to recognition. She looked away, embarrassment flushing her cheeks. Bobby sensed her discomfort and slipped his arm under her elbow, steering her toward the stairs.

His office was at the end of the squad room on the second. Again, she had to walk through a room filled with detectives; almost all of whom were men. Alex didn't try to catch anyone's eye this time. She headed straight for Zinsky's office. Through the glass she could see him at his desk, feet up, laughing with a couple of detectives. She didn't hesitate. She tossed her head back and strode in.

Zinsky looked up, and the laugh died on his lips. His eyes widened and he stood up. "Oh my God, as I live and breath, it's Lexie Eames."

"Can it, Robert. We need to talk." Her voice was low, almost a whisper.

"Who's the goon?" Zinsky gestured with his head at Bobby.

"This is my partner, Detective Goren."

"You sleep with her yet?" The man winked. Bobby didn't react. This was Alex's game, and he was going to play by her rules.

"I need to talk to you." She looked at the other detectives. Zinsky waved an arm and they cleared the room. She waited until they shut the door. "You have a daughter who goes to the same daycare as my nephew."

He chuckled. "I heard all about it. Never thought you were cold enough to give away your own kid. Glad I never found out the hard way."

Bobby sneered at him.

"I can't have them in the same daycare. My nephew will be going somewhere new. I'm just here to clarify with you that you never have contact with him or any other member of my family. Do you understand?" Alex Eames was a small woman and she spoke quietly, but her intensity carried the energy of the room.

Zinsky shook his head. "You somehow imagine that I would really want anything to do with you and your bastard kid. This is not a problem. Unlike you, I have a life. I have a wife and child. Look at you, Lex. Tired and beat, you're an old woman, not even 40 years old. All you have is your job; nothing more. I've heard about you. Pathetic, really."

Alex stared at the wall behind him, saying nothing.

Zinsky turned to Bobby. "You never knew her then. So young, so pretty. She had such energy, always the life of the party; nothing like the hag I see before me now."

Bobby stepped forward and took Alex by the arm. "Time to go."

Alex turned to look at him as if waking up. She shook off his hand. "You're a bully, Robert. I don't care what I look like to you. I've been spared the years of an abusive marriage. I…I just can't imagine what drew me to you in the first place. Makes me feel dumb that I ever saw something in you."

Zinsky was on his feet and pointing at Bobby. "Hey you, whatever your name is, get the bitch out of my house and make sure she never comes back."

She stepped toward him, but Bobby was there. He gently but firmly steered her out of his office. "Don't think I forgot what you did to me you little whore!" was the last sounds they heard before Bobby pulled her down the staircase.

Outside, she walked past the car, arms folded tightly across her chest. Bobby trotted after her. "Alex!"

She turned and waved him away. He could see her eyes blurry with tears.

"Get in the car," he said softly when he reached her.

She turned away from him. "I want to be alone. I'll grab a cab."

"In his precinct? No, Alex, I don't think so. You want to be alone? Great, but you're getting in the car and you're letting me drop you off at home."

She stopped for a moment, the crisp winter air making clouds of steam rise up around her. She looked at him and nodded, following him to the car.

He was quiet until he got to her apartment complex, ignoring the tears she tried to stifle. He stopped and turned to her before she could open the door. "I let you play it, Alex. I didn't say a word, God help me I didn't say a word." He paused and looked out the windshield. "But if I ever see him again, so help me, it's on. I am not going to stand by while he…speaks to you like that."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Just what I need, another man in my life who can't control his anger." She opened the car door and got out before he could reply. He watched her trot up the stairs to her apartment building. Then he let out a deep sigh and dropped his head against the seat, cursing the bad timing of his outburst.

…………………………………………………………………………………..

He was at her apartment at midnight. She hadn't answered any of his phone messages, and sleep wasn't going to happen for him if he didn't know she was all right. There was no response to his knocking, and he wondered if she was out and deliberately ignoring his calls. She had never done that before. She knew how he obsessed on things. He had a key but hated to use it. She had given it to him a couple of years ago when she went on vacation, and when he tried to give it back to her when she returned, she told him to keep in case of emergency. He went over in his head one more time whether this would qualify as such. He decided to ignore his doubts, and turned the key in the lock.

The lights were on in her apartment and the sounds of a television show came from the living room. He walked through the kitchen and saw the liquor cabinet open. When he turned into the living room, the sour smell of hard alcohol hit him. Alex lay sprawled on the couch, the glow of the blaring TV being the only illumination in the room. He found the remote beside her and shut it off. Then he switched on a light beside her couch. It was clear that his partner was soused; just as it was clear that this was not a regular event. The whiskey on the table was the same bottle Deakins gave each of them three Christmases ago.

He sat down softly on the couch and lifted her shoulders so that she was leaning against him. Then he spoke into her ear, "Alex, wake up, Alex. It's Bobby."

She responded with a groan and nestled her face into his shoulder. He couldn't help but smile a little. "Alex," he said louder. "wake up."

A blurry eye opened and attempted to focus on him. Then a realization gripped her, and she pushed away from him. "Whoa," he said, "It's Bobby. You're okay."

Blonde hair fell over her eyes and she took a minute to orient herself. "What are you doing here?"

"You weren't answering your phone. Apparently, you were too busy drowning yourself in cheap whiskey." He picked up a 2 liter bottle of 7-up on the coffee table. "You can't be too hard core if you were mixing your liquor with soda pop all night."

"Stuff tastes like lighter fluid without it," she mumbled as she pushed the hair away from her eyes. "Why did you come?"

"You were right earlier. I let my temper get the best of me. That's not what you needed to hear at that moment."

She rubbed under her eyes and discovered the debris of her mascara. "You can tell me this in the morning."

"No, Alex listen. I want to say this. I want to tell you that I know how awful he was to you. I have never thought one thing he said to you in there. You have to understand it for what it was. He's a bitter man, and Nicole has orchestrated it so that you're in his path again. He fears you. He knows you are the one woman he could never control and so he attacks. It's fear aggression…like, like in a dog who attacks because it can't understand."

She tried to concentrate on his words. "Bobby, I…I don't know what to say. Thanks. I'll think about it. I'm just so tired right now."

He leaned toward her. "Zinsky isn't the point here. He's the distraction Nicole threw at you. She has you rattled, unsure where to focus. We have to deflect all this and concentrate on her and what she did to our vic. You got me?"

"Yeah," she was rubbing at her throbbing temples.

He got up. "Where's the ibuprofen?" She pointed to the bathroom and he disappeared. Then she heard him moving things around in the kitchen. He came out with a glass of water and pills. "This is the best hangover cure. Drink three glasses of water and take three ibuprofen. You'll be as good as new in the morning."

She took the water and let him deposit the pills in her other hand. "I'm going to stay until we get three glasses in."

"Bobby"

"I want you back at work tomorrow bright and early. We have to be on our game."

She nodded at him, wincing at the pain building in her head.

"I'm going to be back to pick you up at 8 a.m. You be ready, okay?"

He got up, keeping an eye on her until he got to the door. She stayed focused on the glass of water in her hand.

"We're going to get her, Alex." He waited. Finally, she raised her head and gave him one last acknowledgement. It was only then that he could close the door behind him.

……………………………………………………………………………….

Alex was amazed that she felt as well as she did. There was only the hint of a headache. And she found she was able to eat part of the egg and sausage sandwich he had waiting for her in the car. She remembered everything he said to her, and somehow it tempered the embarrassment she felt at having him find her in that condition.

She felt ready for Nicole and even smiled when she saw her escort bring her into interrogation. Nicole smiled back at her before fixing Bobby with a smirk.

"So Alex, how is Robert? Did the two of you have a nice chat?"

"No, not really, Nicole. He's an angry, stupid man. His act is tired. Seeing him actually reminds of what I feel when I see you."

"My, you did sharpen your claws before you came to work today, didn't you?"

"Just an honest observation. How about we move onto to more important things like what you know about the death of Roberta Jones and the disappearance of Bettina Garcia."

"Absolutely. Let's talk about it. What do you think, Bobby? You just going to stand back there and watch today?" She flashed him one of her mega watt smiles and Alex wondered if there would come a day when she didn't look like she just walked out of an ad for a fashion magazine.

"Well, Nicole when you're around, there's really so much to see," Bobby replied softly.

Alex felt a twinge of annoyance in her gut. She wondered how much of what he said was really the truth. "Did Bettina talk about Roberta Jones?"

Nicole looked at her. "In fact, she did. She said something about how she was going to 'kill that skanky ho bitch' the minute she got out of here. Of course, I told her that was against the law. I had hoped, perhaps, that I could sway her to a more moral existence, but she seemed determined."

"And you didn't report this to authorities. Well, that might make you an accessory after the fact."

"Oh, but Alex, I feared for my life. You don't know what it's like in there." Nicole didn't try and hide the sarcasm that coated her words.

"Do you know where Bettina is?" Alex asked.

"We never exchanged numbers. She was really a common sort, you know. Probably never read anything more challenging than a cereal box. I'm pretty sure she thought Moby Dick was porn."

Bobby snorted. "Sometimes I forget how funny you are, Nicole. Tell us more. I hang on your every word."

"Bettina has a boyfriend that she mentioned. His name is Carlos Gregory. She said something about him being on parole. Lives in Brooklyn, I think."

"Well, that was easy," Alex stood up, wearing a slightly puzzled look.

"That gives us some time to talk about other things." Nicole smiled brightly at both of them.

Bobby rolled his eyes. "Oh, please, I'm not sure I can handle another one of your revelations."

"No more revelations. I'm just surprised that you don't see what's right in front of you."

Alex slapped the table with one hand. "Okay, I've had it. No more. Save it. Whatever you know, we don't need." She got up and left the room.

Bobby watched his partner leave, and then turned to Nicole again. "You play too much and we get bored."

"You really think it's a good idea to focus solely on Bettina?"

"That's where the crime is, Nicole. Where else would we focus?"

"Sometimes, there's no way to know where to focus. Sometimes, it's coming from all directions."

Bobby shook his head. "It's too vague."

"Okay, Bobby, you want specifics. I'm tired of her. She gets in between us. Her common sense practicality, it's annoying. She's dogged and that's boring. She grates on my nerves. She interrupts the dance we have, you and I. I don't like her anymore." She stared straight at him.

Bobby felt air leave his body. He couldn't do anything other than meet her stare blankly. A minute passed before he had the presence to tap the glass and summon her escort. Without a word, he walked past her and out the door. No one was standing at the mirror. No one else had heard her words. He saw Alex on the phone at her desk, and he realized how right Nicole was. Alex was dogged and practical. She was no doubt on the phone hunting down Carlos Gregory.

She looked up at him. "She say anything else?"

He shook his head and turned away. He had told her that Nicole was trying to break her focus, and so Alex no longer had any time for the psychotic blonde. She was going to carry on as if there had been no Robert Zinsky. He was doing the best he could to stay on top of her game, and yet Bobby got the distinct feeling that the last words that Nicole had said to him were the only ones that really mattered.

……………………………………………………………………………………………


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. They are the property of Dick Wolf and NBC inc.

A/N: I hope you are still interested. I would love to hear from you if you are. Things are starting to heat up. I am writing two chapters ahead of what is being posted. Every chapter seems to have a twist that I never expected. If you are reading, thanks for going on this journey with me. Let me know what you think

sheila

Something Precious

Chapter 3

Bobby hesitated before the ADA's door. If he went in, there was no going back. His intentions would be clear. Finally, he pushed through the slightly open door and into the man's office.

Ron Carver looked up from the brief he was reading and pulled his reading glasses off. "Detective Goren"

Bobby shifted uncomfortably. "I need a few minutes of your time."

Carver gestured with a hand and Bobby sat. "What can I do for you?"

Bobby leaned forward. "You and I haven't always gotten along, counselor."

"Well, this promises to be an interesting conversation."

"We've been talking with Nicole Wallace again. Her former cellmate is a suspect in a murder."

Carver took a deep breath. "What has the wretched Ms. Wallace done this time?"

He looked around the room for a moment. "We think she is using this murder as a means of getting our attention."

"Getting your attention, you mean."

"Well, she has it."

"What does she want from you, Detective?"

Bobby stared down at his hands for a moment. "I think she means to kill my partner."

Carver sat up straight. "She has made a specific threat? Does she have the means?"

He snorted. "Nicole can find the means."

"She said she was going to have her killed."

Bobby squeezed his eyes shut. "Not exactly."

"Detective! Quit beating around the bush. What do you have?"

"My gut. I have my gut. She's been making moves, dredging up old history; history that could hurt Eames. This murder is a smoke screen. I think when we find Bettina Garcia, all the pieces of this case are going to fall into place because this is not about Bettina Garcia and Roberta Jones. This is about…God!" He grasped his head. "This is not going to sound right. Nicole is bored, and she's entertaining petty annoyances and Alex happens to be one of them."

Carver frowned at him.

Bobby was on his feet. "She needs attention, and she happens to want mine. Alex is the one who keeps me grounded; she's the one who helps me walk away."

"What does Eames think about this…theory?"

"I haven't talked to her yet."

His eyebrows rose. "What is your plan?"

"I thought maybe you could talk to the warden and have her placed in solitary confinement until we can complete an investigation; it'll give me a chance to find out if Nicole is reaching out to hurt Alex."

"Really? I should call up the warden and tell him that a detective has a hunch, and so he should violate someone's civil rights until we know for sure."

Bobby made a face. "Counselor, I have been over this a hundred times. I don't believe Nicole is going to say anything more incriminating than she already has. I also believe that Detective Eames' life is in danger and I don't know what to do except sit here and…grovel for your help."

"I don't have anything to use." Carver threw up his hands.

"You can ask for a favor. I would imagine someone out there owes you, someone who could give us some time."

"Detective!"

"Come on, Counselor. It's Alex. You like her."

Carver cursed under his breath and looked away. Finally he turned to the tall detective. "I can ask for a week. I can tell the warden that we have concerns about an ongoing investigation and it's important that she be sequestered until it is complete."

Bobby relaxed visibly. "Thank you."

Carver pointed a finger. "You have one week, Detective. And you better talk to your partner about this or I will."

………………………………………………………………………………………….

Deakins was visibly annoyed. Goren was pacing about his office like he did when he was agitated, and he wasn't making much sense. Eames leaned against a glass wall, looking confused.

"I don't have evidence to back this up, Captain."

"You think Wallace is going after Eames based on…the way she looked at you? I don't get it."

"She said she didn't like Eames. She said she was tired of her, annoyed."

Deakins shrugged. "I realize she is a psychopath, but, geez, the woman gets annoyed and your partner needs police protection. I'm not impressed."

"Bobby, last night you told me this was only a distraction to keep us unfocused. We're supposed to focus on Roberta Jones, remember?"

"That's what I thought. And then I sat in there with her today and I saw something else. It was what she said after you left; it was how she said it."

Alex stood up and moved toward him. "She does this to you, Bobby. She sends you all these signals, and it gets confusing."

"I don't think so, Alex." He stepped away from her and turned to Deakins. "This murder is the distraction. She needed a reason to be pulled back here. She set Garcia up. Then we bring her here, and the first thing she does is bait Alex. She opens up her past." Then he wheeled until he was looking at Eames again. "Today, she showed almost no interest in Garcia or Jones. The only spark from her had to do with Alex."

"She could be playing you. One minute, we think our target is Garcia, the next she's got you thinking it's about me. What do you want to bet we bring her again, and she changes her story yet again?" Eames confronted him, arms folded tightly across her chest.

"It's my gut. I feel it. She can play me all she wants, but I feel it. She wants to hurt you. She brought Zinsky out of your past. All of that work just to rattle you? I've thought about it and I don't think so."

Deakins waved a hand at him. "Okay, so let's stop chasing rabbits. Your gut is good enough for me. Hell, I've let you run on a lot less before."

"Wait a minute, Captain." Alex was standing between them. "I get a voice in this."

"Alex, that woman has caused enough havoc around here. I would not put anything past her. We don't ignore this."

"And then she wins again." Alex threw her arms up and turned away from them.

Bobby shook his head. "No, she doesn't win. She wouldn't set all this up just to inconvenience you for a week. She's not small time like that. You know that."

"I don't have the people to sit on you, Alex. We squawk too loud about this, and people find out that Nicole is in lockdown under no charges. I think you should get out of town for a week. Buy a ticket using cash. Hell, I'll pay for it. Bobby will escort you to the gate. That'll give us a week to look this over good."

Alex threw her head back and chuckled. "No way! Not happening. Let's move onto plan B."

"I agree with her, Captain. I think she should stay here."

"And we do what to protect her?"

"She stays with me."

"What?" Alex said.

"My apartment. It's clean. I have a couch."

"All right, I get it. I get it now. This is what Nicole planned. I stay with you 24 hours a day for a week, and there will be a murder. She doesn't have to do a thing. I'll shoot him and then kill myself."

Bobby snorted. "Don't hold back like that. What do you really feel, Alex?"

There was something in the way he said that hit her in the gut. She remembered how tough it always been for him to feel accepted. She stepped back and sat down in a chair.

"I didn't mean anything by it. I just find this really frustrating."

Bobby looked at Deakins and then went over to sit next to her. "I understand that, but we're partners, right? If you're in danger, I take care of you. That's how it works. You've been there for me."

"Okay, but we do this together. The big brother act isn't going to work for me. I am part of this, and I'm not convinced she isn't trying to hurt you."

Bobby looked down at the ground. "She knows how to hurt me, Alex. Trust me. This is why we need to stick together."

"All right guys, it's been wonderful to be a part of this special moment, but let's get back to the situation here. I'm going to pretend I don't know that the two of you will be sharing quarters. But you're going to need some help." Without saying another word, Deakins strode to the door and opened it. "Logan!"

Bobby squeezed his eyes closed and hung his head. Alex had to stifle a grin. Logan showed up at the door with a puzzled look on his face. Deakins turned to his detectives.

"Barak is at Quantico this week for training. Logan is at loose ends, and the two of you could use some help."

Logan looked around the room. "I would guess that I am very late to this party. Who wants to bring me up to speed?"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

She was used to being in the driver's seat, but at least she was in front. Goren was draped over the divider like a kid in the being left out of the joke. Logan was trying to ignore the guy camped six inches away from his ear.

"You sure he hangs out here." Logan looked at Eames. They were parked in front of Bunny's nightclub.

"A guy at the precinct says he still hangs out here every night after work," she said.

"I still think you should wait out here," Goren growled from his perch between them.

Logan nodded. "From what you told me, this guy sounds like a real piece of work. Maybe you should let Bobby and I go in, talk to him, tell him what's what, and then we're back here in ten minutes. Save you the trouble of dealing with the creep."

Alex rolled her eyes. "I have four older brothers, you know. Those positions have been filled. You guys are going to have to settle for some other kind of relationship with me. I'm going in with you."

"This time I get to say what I want," Goren reminded her groaning as he crawled out of the back seat. She made a mental note to climb in the back on the way back. Logan's economy backseat was no match for the big detective.

She straightened her coat and resisted an urge to check the mirror before she got out. Zinsky was going to say what he would say no matter how she looked.

Logan opened the door into a smoky, loud bar filled with men drinking hard and women in tight clothes waiting tables. She moved past Mike and scanned the room. At the back was a stage, and a naked girl, no more than 18 years of age, was dancing. Beside the stage was a large table filled with beefy men, some of them wearing sidearms. She recognized the detectives from her old unit. And then she spotted Robert, a whiskey in one hand and a cigarette in the other. She cringed at the realization of how boorish he looked to her now. There was a time when she would have given her life for him.

She pointed for her partners and they headed back there. Robert didn't spot them until they stood in front of the table. Then he raised his glass, "Fellas, let's give a toast to the little skirt I used to bang and the two eunuchs she brought with her!"

All faces turned toward them, and Alex kept her face as neutral as possible. Logan moved forward. "I'm Detective Logan, Major Cases,and we need to talk to you."

Zinsky ignored him and turned to Goren. "You still mute?"

Goren leaned into him and spoke slowly. "You get up and walk with us to an empty table or I'm going to break your neck."

Zinsky broke into raucous laughter, throwing his head back. "They're threatening me guys!"

Goren had him by the collar and on his feet before anyone could react. Alex breathed in sharply. He wheeled him around and threw him up against the wall. Other men at the table got to their feet, but Logan was there warning them to stay out of it.

Alex started to move toward them, but Logan grabbed her forearm and whispered sharply, "Let him play it out."

Zinsky was no small man and the two of them were face to face, gritting teeth as they struggled with one another. With a shout, Bobby threw him against the wall, and the concussion caused him to slide down onto his haunches, struggling to find his breath. Bobby stood over him. "We think someone is trying to kill Alex. Our chief suspect is you. Call it off. Anything happens to her, and I am going to hunt you like a dog."

Zinsky spat at him, and when Goren reached up to wipe it off his face, the older Narcotics cop hooked him with his leg and brought him crashing to the ground. Zinsky climbed on him and started hitting. The other cops started to clear the table and Logan pushed Eames behind him. Alex had other ideas. She came out on the other side, and rushed Sgt. Ryan, the desk jockey. Looking up at him, she said, "You let 'em work it out, Frankie. Hear me? Bullies have to learn to take it too, you know."

The older man put a hand up and signaled the other cops to sit down again.

She planted a finger on his chest. "Frankie, listen up. Robert has any plans regarding me that you know of, you better get smart. I'm working with the finest now. We get the work done without becoming the animals we hunt. Take a lesson from that. You and me both know that he isn't smart enough or careful to get out of this clean. Remember last time? You know something; you better get on the right side of it as soon as you can 'cause if we get there first, everybody's going down, and I'm walking away with a smile on my face. Promise you that." She let go and backed away.

Goren had Zinsky pinned and was looking down at him. "You gonna' play again or did you get the message?"

The older man was considerably more winded than his opponent. He nodded reluctantly and Goren got off him, backing away. Zinsky got up, nose bleeding and cursed at Goren, but that was the extent of it. He turned and limped back to his seat at the table.

Logan grinned and looked at the men seated. "Sorry guys, can't help it. I haven't been with the squad long so I haven't seen the two of them work much. But you gotta admit that they're good. I'd put my money on Eames in an alley fight with any one of you mopes. She's got heart. Ever heard of that?"

Goren wiped at a bloody lip, and Eames resisted an urge to grab a napkin for him. Then he spoke, "If you're anywhere near what we're working on, we'll find it and take you down."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zinsky murmured through a hankerchief catching blood from his nose.

"Sorry, we don't have time for remedial math today, Zinsky. We'll have to let your buddies explain it to you." said Logan. The element of surprise was long gone, and Logan wanted them out of there before the table got organized. He pushed Goren toward the door and Eames after him while he took the rear. Once outside, he ran past both of them and had the car running by the time they got to it.

……………………………………………………………

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: If you wondered if romance would be part of this, the answer is yes. This story is writing itself like nobody's business. I am not getting things done because all I want to do is write. This hasn't happened with a fanfiction in a long time so I am having fun. Thank you for everyone who reviews. I know it is needy to say this, but I live on that stuff. I have written for shows where I get two or three times what I get per chapter here. So I have been struggling with the thought that people don't like this fiction, but I am also aware that it is a much smaller fandom. Letting me know that you are reading helps a lot. Thanks and I hope the turns are working for you. The energy gets crazy after this chapter.

Sheila

Something Precious

Chapter 4

Logan couldn't stop himself from winking at Bobby when Alex pulled her overnight bag out of the back of the car and headed toward Bobby's apartment. Bobby had to resist an urge to reach in and grab him by the neck. Logan saw the scowl on his face, and laughed at him before driving off.

Bobby groaned as he removed his coat inside his door. There was definite stiffness in his shoulder. He suspected his face looked bad; he could feel the swelling around his mouth and his right eye stung.

Alex put her bag down next to the couch, and went around turning on lights. She had been here once before when they'd stopped in the middle of a case so that he could change his suit. She remembered his apartment as sort of cold; high ceilings and wood floors. There were books stacked to the ceiling on almost every wall. His furniture could only be described as interesting; angles and forms that were unexpected. His couch was actually a futon, and Alex was glad. She was not interested in spending the next week on narrow cushions. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bobby studying the marks on his face and she grinned. He could be as vain as a schoolgirl sometimes. She went into the kitchen and found a towel and some ice. "Hey Joe Louis, put this on your face."

He took the ice pack and planted it gently on his jaw. Alex took him by the arm and steered him toward the futon. "Sit down. I'll get dinner."

She went back to the kitchen and opened up the refrigerator. There wasn't much other than some condiments and a carton of eggs. Shaking her head, she closed the door and pulled a takeout menu off the door. She pulled her phone off her belt and called for a large pepperoni thin crust.

Goren heard her knocking about his kitchen and took the pack off his face. "Alex, there's not much to eat."

She walked back into the living room. "I noticed. We're eating pizza tonight. Creative, huh?"

He grimaced.

She sat down beside. "This is weird, Bobby. I can't pretend it's anything else."

He nodded.

"But I appreciate it." She reached over and touched his swelling around his eye. "Do you feel better now that you showed Robert what you thought of him?"

The less swollen side of his mouth turned up.

She laughed. "I didn't mind seeing him looking beat up like that. It was…refreshing, I suppose."

Unable to stifle a grin, Goren grimaced in pain.

"Are you going to be able to eat pizza? Want me to chew it up for you?"

He groaned again, but this time she was pretty sure it wasn't from the pain.

"Seriously though, I know this has to be uncomfortable for you."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Ah, come on Bobby. You like your privacy. It's not going to be easy having me around."

He took the pack away from his face and looked at her. "I have guests on occasion, Alex. You are not the first female to grace my doorstep."

"Yeah, but I'm not one of the leggy brunettes that you like so well. I'm your partner."

He frowned. "Okay, first of all, you don't know that I'm partial to brunettes, leggy or otherwise. And second, I think you're the one uncomfortable here."

She shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know how to feel about everything. I trust you, but I feel so naked. My whole life has been peeled back, and you can see everything. And I don't know what you think."

"Does it matter?"

She let out a breath. "Bobby, I'm dealing with fifteen years worth of shame here. You think I'm just okay about all of this?"

"I would never judge you."

She stood up in frustration. "God, Bobby, I mean, come on. How can you not?"

Bobby looked up at her and spoke softly. "Because I think you hung the moon in the sky."

She placed her hands on her hips. "I don't even know what that means."

He got up. "It's been a hard day, Alex. I think we could both use some sleep. I'm going to bring out some sheets and a pillow. Do me a favor and save me some pizza for breakfast. I don't think I can really chew much of anything right now."

She stood there as he walked off feeling the ball in the pit of her stomach grow even larger.

……………………………………………………………………………….

"Well, aren't you a pretty picture?" Deakins leaned against the front of his desk, a scowl deeply etched into his face. Logan, Goren, and Eames sat before him. "Rolling around a strip bar with a Narcotics Lieutenant; no way to write that up without sounding like I'm running some kind of monkey exhibit over here. What were you thinking?"

Alex stood. "Sir, this is my fault. Zinsky is my problem. I don't know how much you know from my file, but—"

"I know enough, Detective. Zinsky is a waste of breathable air. I understand that Nicole has pointed you to him, but I don't understand the need to agitate him. You wounded his pride last night. If he wasn't coming after you before, he's coming now."

"Ah, it was my idea. I thought we should warn him. Make sure he knows that we know," Bobby offered, his face a mosaic of bruises.

"And I egged these guys on, Captain," said Logan looking contrite with his hands folded on his lap.

"I'm not looking for a damn scapegoat here! I need you to be smarter about this. It's not some juvenile game. You're like a bunch of kids poking at a rottweiler on a frayed leash. And you only have a week before Nicole goes back to general population. I got a call from Carver. He really went out on a limb with this one. He's been dancing with her lawyer all morning. So let's make this time count, people."

"We thought—"

"I know what you thought," the captain pointed a finger in Bobby's face. "You thought that something would feel better if you had Zinsky by the neck. Perfectly natural, I agree, but we don't have time for that." Then he pointed at Logan, "And you love any opportunity to wave your johnson around so everybody knows what a tough guy you are. Knock it off, both of you. Now, get out of here."

They all got up and headed for the door.

"Not you, Eames," said the captain, and she gave Bobby a weary look for sinking into a chair again. The captain closed the door. "Alex, are you okay?"

She nodded and then looked down at her hands.

"I thought it over, and I know Don Cragen over in Special Victims. He owes me one. He'll set up a safe house and post you in it. Benson and Tutola can take shifts. We won't kick this upstairs or anything. Just keep it low key. What do you say?"

"I don't want to hide."

"I know, I know, but I got a funny feeling about this whole thing. I can't shake it. Something's off. I don't know what it is. Plus, I can't imagine that you enjoy sleeping on Goren's couch."

"Sir, I appreciate it, but I can't sit in a house somewhere. I need to be in the middle of this, and Bobby has a nice place. I have a futon all to myself. I'm fine."

"I really don't want to hear about another stunt like that. I've known men like Zinsky my entire life. They can be just as dangerous as psychopaths like Nicole Wallace if you give them a reason."

"I promise, Sir. We won't cross into his territory again."

There was a commotion outside and Deakins strode through the door. A police captain, a beat cop, Sergeant Ryan, and Lieutenant Zinsky had walked into the room. Logan was holding Goren back, and Zinsky was trying to muscle his way past his captain.

Deakins stepped into the middle of the room. "This is my house! What in the hell is going on here?"

The police captain walked up to him. "Your people walk into my precinct, and put my Lieutenant in the hospital. I'm here to make arrests."

"In my office!" Without breaking his glare, he pointed backwards at his office. Then he looked around the room at his detectives. "Any of you make a move, and I'll let them take you wherever they want!"

The two police captains disappeared into the office. Zinsky sat down heavily at one of the desks, his face looking more mangled than Goren's. Ryan parked himself behind him. "Payback's a bitch, Lexie."

Alex flipped her head and looked away.

"Ah, come on, Zinsky. I didn't make you for a little girl crying to your captain." Logan was careful to keep himself between Zinsky and Goren.

"You come on my turf, I come on yours." Zinsky kept his eyes on Alex. "Lexie, why do you have to be such a cold bitch? We didn't have all bad times, you know. I probably taught you most of what you know, girl. And I never got one thank you."

Goren tried to push past Logan, but Logan was a match for his colleague, pound for pound. Alex walked past both of them and stood in front of Zinsky. "You have to go, Robert. I was wrong to come find you. You go back to Queens. I'll stay here. The city is big enough for both of us. You stay in your borough and I'll stay in mine."

"Sorry, darlin', you opened the door, it's too late to stuff it all back inside." He leaned back and regarded her.

Alex looked at Ryan and he refused to meet her eyes. She took a deep breath and walked away.

"Zinsky, you're a tired man. Go home. You can't handle her anymore. Leave it alone." Goren hissed at him over Logan's shoulder. He wrenched out of Logan's grip and put his hands up. Logan let him back away. "Zinsky, what hit you're the hardest, huh; that she wasn't afraid of you or that she had clearly let go? It's gotta kill you what she's become. Look at her."

Alex turned to him sharply, "Bobby, let it go."

But Goren couldn't see anything but the man who hurt his partner. "She's beautiful, accomplished, courageous. Were you prepared to see that? Did your source prepare you? She's amazing, Robert. Look at her. She outgrew you. Your women aren't supposed to do that."

Zinsky launched himself from his seat, but never made it to Goren. Alex caught his groin with her knee and sent him rolling around the floor. Deakins and the other captain were there, and Deakins had his arms around her waist, pulling her away from him. Deakins turned his head and yelled to the Queens captain, "Get him out of here!"

The Queens captain pulled Zinsky to his feet, and Ryan grabbed Zinsky's other arm, and together they hauled the man out of the room. Logan turned to Deakins, "Captain, we were doing the best we could."

Deakins shook his head. "It doesn't matter. They shouldn't have come. They should have known better. I gave the captain the lowdown and he confirmed my worst fears. Zinsky's a loose cannon. The man can barely contain him."

Goren stared at the door where Zinsky disappeared. "He's primal, survives on instincts. He's a perfect patsy for Nicole. And we just finished priming him for the task. He's not going to rest until he has Alex under his control." He turned his head and found her. "He has no choice now. He has to go after you. He has to have to make you pay for becoming better than he is."

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

The rest of the day was a bust. They banged doors looking for Bettina Garcia or her boyfriend, Carlos Gregory. Nobody seems to have seen either of them. Tension mounted among the detectives, and only terse remarks were exchanged.

By evening, they had run out of places to search, and the level of frustration was high. Mike Logan was the big surprise. He showed the most energy, and when it was time to end he pushed them to sit down and eat a good meal at an Italian restaurant in the village. He did his best to keep the conversation alive, but his colleagues were emotionally spent. He seemed reluctant to drop them off, but both of them wanted nothing more than the peace and solitude of a home; barely remembering that the current arrangements would force them to face each other.

In his apartment, she wandered into the living room without a word. Bobby headed to his bedroom. He was just securing a pair of pajama bottoms when she appeared in his doorway wearing nothing but an oversize t-shirt, looking everything like an 8 year old girl at a slumber party. She looked at him with watery eyes. "A week's not going to matter. It means nothing. She sits in solitary, that's all. She's probably already put this whole thing into play, probably doesn't need to say another word. We proved that today, didn't we? Three days and three confrontations with a man I swore never to interact with again. What's left? Maybe he doesn't come for me this week. Maybe he waits a month or two. What's the plan then? Should I just stay on the futon here, and be real quiet when you bring your beauties home?" He started to say something but she put up a hand. "Oh wait! I thought of another option. I'll run away. Topeka, Kansas comes to mind. I'll marry some divorced insurance salesman. That's pretty much my choice at this age, and then I'll raise his two children while he goes off to the bowling league on Wednesday nights and some service club with an animal name on Thursday nights." She wrapped her arms tightly around her waist. Every angle I look at this, it ends badly, I'm either hiding or dead. Or I could kill him. Would you visit me if I did that? Not every month, but on holidays and such." The tears started to run, and she turned to leave. He reached out a long arm and pulled her into him. His bare chest was hairy and warm, and she breathed in a smell that was uniquely his.

"Sshhh," he said, "It was a bad day, nothing more. We're tired. Just need some rest." He rocked her lightly and stroked her hair. "We're smarter than he is, Alex. We have to play on that weakness. He's all reaction. We have to be the proaction."

She calmed considerably and their breathing fell into a simultaneous rhythm. For a few moments she lost herself in the comfort of another warm body, and then she remembered, and started to push away. He held her in. "Ah, Bobby, I just realized that I'm awfully close to your skin here."

He rocked her again. "Yeah, it's not bad."

She managed to get her arms between her body and his torso. "Um, there're rules and we're not following them, specifically the 'never hug your half naked partner' rule."

He let her move away, but kept his arms on her shoulders. "I take issue with some of the assumptions you have about me."

"Like what?"

"You seem to think I'm some kind of Lothario, bringing girls in and out of this apartment like an express checkout."

She looked up at him. "You have a reputation, you know."

He breathed in. "Yes, but it's only a reputation. The guys in the squad think I'm crazy so why not let 'em think that I'm crazy like the fox that gets into the henhouse every night."

"I don't know, Bobby. You never have anyone special in your life."

"I beg to differ. I have you."

She shook her head. "But this can't be…anything. There's too much at stake. There're rules."

He smiled down at her. "Since when did you get so worked up about rules?"

"Since I realized I could lose the one person who means…" She bit her lip rather than finish the sentence.

"Haven't you ever wondered?"

"Jeez, Bobby, you gotta play fair here," she said, offering no resistance when he pulled her in against his chest again.

"Alex, you're the only beauty I've ever really wanted here."

He reached down and nuzzled her neck, and the distraction almost overwhelmed her. "I don't understand this. I don't know what this means."

He stopped and raised her face to his. "It means that I am with the strongest, most beautiful woman I know. It means that I can't imagine life without you. What man wouldn't die to feel that with a woman?"

She closed her eyes. "You must really like jumping off cliffs."

"I wouldn't do it if I didn't think you would be there to catch me." His lips were soft on hers. At first she let him explore, but soon she made it clear that his need was hers. He started to back her toward his bed, and she lifted her head, "We're both awfully vulnerable right now."

He stopped and looked at her. "Do you trust me?" Her breath caught and she nodded. "Do you want this?" He said. She looked up at him for a moment, and then pulled his head down to hers, hungrier than he had ever imagined.

Hours later, the sun was rising and he opened his eyes to find her staring down at him. She touched his grizzled cheek and smiled. "I'm not going to be a typical female about this. I'm not going to ask what you're feeling right now. I'm just going to tell you that this was very special; more than I ever imagined it would be. Whatever happens, I want you to know you mean…I feel…you're everything to me."

She started to pull away, but he caught her arm. "Don't I get to make my morning after confession?"

She looked away. "Geez Bobby, you don't need to say—"

He put a finger to her lips and pulled her back down beside him. "I feel happy; filled to the top with joy and love and everything else gooey and sweet. You make me so much more than I ever thought I could be, and I love you. How's that for role reversal, Alex?"

She traced the shape of his lips. "I loved a man once, a real man. I even married him, and then he took a bullet at a shootout and my world went blank for a very long time. Can you make me any guarantees?"

"I can guarantee that I've never felt like this with anyone. I can guarantee that my love for you is real, and that it's been there for years. And I can guarantee that I will love you for as long as you live which, I might add, will be for a very long time."

Shit, Bobby, you're killing me here." Her eyes filled and she didn't wait for him to reach for her.

……………………………………………………………………………………..

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

It is good to hear from you. I have received some very nice messages and I am so glad you like what is happening in this fiction. This story is going to get crazy now, and I hope you are in for a little suspense 'cause that's where its going. Please continue to tell me what you are thinking. I am at a place in life where I would still write the story if no one reviewed. However, it's a treat to be able to know what you think.

Sheila

**Something Precious**

**Chapter 5**

He waited until she was over at the coffee machine, and then he joined her, standing at her shoulder. "You doing okay?"

She nodded at him. "I feel like a recalcitrant schoolgirl here, hiding my secret life."

"Recalcitrant…hmm…look that up?"

She grinned, unable to look straight at him. "And I practiced it in a sentence for five minutes in front of the mirror."

"Can I watch the next time you do that?"

"I might even do an interpretive dance."

He chuckled softly. "I'm glad you're having a better day."

"Anything from Mike?"

"Mike?"

"Logan, Bobby. Have you heard anything from Logan?"

"You're on a first name basis now," he said looking at her curiously.

"Yeah, me and Mike and Jimmy and Ron, we're all on first name basis. We hang out down at the pub and shoot darts while you're in interrogation."

"Promise you'll let me know the next time you're shooting darts with Ron Carver 'cause I really want to see that."

She smiled, and then looked away. "This is supposed to be helping me not be so anxious, right?"

"Working?"

"Not really. We can't find Bettina. Logan's having no luck finding Carlos. What are we doing?"

"I think I should go see Nicole…alone."

"Wonderful idea! Why don't you go to Dannemora and let her run you around in circles. It'll work wonders for both of you."

"Alex"

"We complicated things, Bobby. We chose that. Right?"

"Yeah, we did." He looked down at the floor.

"Do you go to see her for a reason or just because you don't know what else to do?"

"I don't know, Alex. I don't know."

She put her hand on his in the squad room, people moving about, someone apt to see it, but she did it without apology. "Do what you think is right. I trust you in all things."

Bobby nodded and waited until she took her hand away.

"Hey!" Both of them turned to find Logan at his desk. "Bettina and Carlos are hiding. I'm convinced of it. I have been everywhere. Swear to God! I hate them!"

Alex smiled and Bobby walked toward him. "We got anything?"

"No, you doing anything here other than playing footsie with your partner?"

Bobby couldn't afford an outburst, and so he moved away from Logan.

"Okay guys, let's sit down and think this out."

Logan nodded. "Let's take interrogation. Nobody'll bother us."

Alex nodded and Bobby turned in a full circle and looked at Alex. He nodded and headed for interrogation room A.

Alex looked at Logan. "I need a minute to finish this note."

"I go in there alone with him?"

"You're a big boy, Mike." She smiled and then returned to her notes.

Logan smirked and headed off toward interrogation.

Her phone rang and she picked it up. "My sister? Are you sure? Yeah, I'll be down. The back entrance? Yeah, I know parking is better back there." Alex hung up and headed for the door. She took the stairs, a promise she made to herself ever since she needed to lose those last fifteen baby pounds. She jogged down two flights and was rounding a corner when she saw him in the bottom stairwell. She looked around but this was the back stairwell and rarely used. His size had always been intimidating to her. She could have run back up the stairs, but she was curious as to what he planned in such a public place. He had never fully explained himself. She stopped cold and looked at him.

"I just wanted to explain."

"Seems to me like you've been expressing yourself just fine."

"Not everything is what it seems."

"Tell me about it." Alex kept her hand on her gun.

"I've always cared about you."

"And I used to believe that."

"Alex, I just want to tell you my side. I wanted you to know that I haven't been against you; not like it looks."

She gripped her weapon, but didn't draw it.

"Can we talk?"

"Yeah, let's go up to the squad."

He laughed. "No, they have seen how I've acted. I'm ashamed."

It didn't set right with her. "Then what do you want?"

"Just you and me. We'll talk. Work it out."

"I don't think so." She kept her gun in her holster.

"I have something you should see."

"Really?"

"Please, things are not what they seem. I can help. I want to help."

"What do you have?" Alex wished she wasn't alone in this stairwell.

"We can't talk here."

"We're not going anywhere. Here is all we've got."

"My car. It's right outside. Captain says I'm suspended if he catches me in this house again."

She didn't move. He took a deep breath. "Lexie, I know about Nicole."

Alex thought about the dangers, but realized more than anything that she needed closure. The confession of knowing Nicole was more than she expected. "We'll talk outside by the door in public."

He breathed a sigh and nodded. He opened the door for her, but she gestured at him to go first, keeping her hand tightly on her gun.

She walked out into the crisp air. The back parking lot was quiet, but she did see a Hispanic woman leaning against a blue sedan and was glad for a witness to keep his behavior in check. The sun was bright, and she squinted. The woman looked toward her and Alex realized with a start that her features were familiar. Panic flooded her gut and she pulled out her weapon not sure to point it at the woman or the man she had once trusted. There was a movement to her right, and then suddenly she felt something sharp and cold in her side and her breath caught in her throat. She swung around to find a third person, but there were strong hands gripping her arm and then her gun fell to the ground.

Voices were sharp and she could no longer keep track of who was there. She leaned against the cold, brick building and her legs folded beneath her. She thought about her gun, but strong arms were picking her up, and the blue sedan was there and then she landed on the cold vinyl of the backseat. Someone climbed in beside her and roughly pushed her to the floor. The voices in the car were loud and urgent and she was jerked against the door when the car turned sharply. An ache in her side was growing louder with every breath; every turn of the car caused an eruption of pain and she moaned loudly. She grasped her side, slippery with a sticky wetness. She saw the glistening red on her fingers and turned away. The car hit a bump and she cried out. Someone hissed, "Shut up!" and a man's shoe connected with her shoulder. The pain was so electric that she couldn't breathe. Everything became grey and she felt like she was floating, and then she sunk into blackness.

………………………………………………………………………………..

Goren felt it almost immediately. Her desk was empty. Logan followed him out of interrogation. "Maybe she's in the restroom."

Bobby nodded, but couldn't speak.

"I'll go check," said Logan running off to the stairs.

Deakins came out of his office and looked at the detective. Bobby didn't look at him. "Something's wrong. I just…I feel it. We've been waiting in interrogation for twenty minutes. Where is she?"

Logan came trotting back. "She's not in the lady's room. Desk sergeant says that a woman came to the desk and told him to call her. Said her sister wanted to talk to her in the back parking lot."

Bobby was taking 4-5 stairs at a time, Logan and Deakins thundering behind him. He burst out the door and scanned the lot. There wasn't a person in sight.

"Shit! Bobby, back away. It's a crime scene." Deakins pushed the big detective away from the doorway. Then he turned to Logan. "Get Crime Scene out here now."

Bobby backed away and stared at the doorway. To the right of the door were patches of pink coloring the snow against the building. There was a slash of red running down the brick. His eyes caught the glint of metal, and he saw a gun in the snow. He crouched so he could see it better. His breath caught. It was definitely Eame's weapon.

"Don't touch it, Bobby."

Goren wanted to say something sharp about how he'd handled more crime scenes than Deakins ever did, but he didn't. A heaviness had descended on him.

Men and women with latex gloves appeared, and someone gently pulled him away from the spot where he was crouching. He turned and saw that it was Logan. Deakins took both of them by the arm and walked them away from the scene. The captain's face was red, and his tone, clipped. "He walked into my house and took her. I'm going to get a car and we're going to go find her."

Logan opened his mouth to protest, but the captain had already sprinted away. He turned back to Bobby. "We got to keep cool heads, Goren. You can take my head off for it, but it's the truth. We go crazy on this and we'll lose everything."

"I don't care about everything. I care about her," Bobby hissed at him and then turned away.

A dapper man with a briefcase walked up. "What's going on here, detectives?"

"Eames has been wounded kidnapped not more than twenty minutes ago."

Carver stared at Logan. "This is Nicole's doing?"

"She's got a police lieutenant in her clutches; an old flame of Eames."

"He did this?"

"Was in the squad room just yesterday promising her payback."

"A cop?" Carver said with a sour look on his face.

"Real piece of work. IA probably has volumes on him. History of abusing Alex years ago. Hates her. Nicole reminded him that she existed." Logan leaned in, one eye on Goren staring at the street only a few feet away. "Everyone's too close to this. Deakins went for a car. Looks like we're going hunting."

Carver looked away for a moment. Then he grabbed a cell, and punched in numbers. "Sally, I have an emergency. Cancel what you can and reschedule the rest. I'm going to need Judge Warren's number…Good." Then he turned to Logan. "Detective, you're going to need warrants, and you need someone with a cooler head around. I'm coming."

"Ah…counselor, maybe I'm overstating things." Logan was distinctly sorry he opened his mouth.

Carver smirked. "I may be 'by the book', but I do understand the urgency here and I've known that woman a lot longer than you have."

Deakins grabbed an unmarked car with a cherry on top. He didn't blink when Carver climbed in after the two detectives. "I need warrants for his office at the precinct and his home. And you're staying in the car."

"Just give me addresses. I'm calling Judge Warren now. And I'm not staying in any damn car."

……………………………………………………………….

Carver strode into the precinct and straight for Sergeant Ryan at the desk. "You should have some faxes for ADA Carver."

"It's a dirty thing you're doing," he growled.

Carver merely plucked the papers and followed the detectives who have already charged upstairs. At the top of the stairs, he could hear Deakins and another man yelling. He saw that Goren and Logan had already headed into Zinsky's office. Without preamble Logan began rifling through drawers.

Carver turned to Deakins and handed the search warrant to the police captain he was yelling at. "We'll be going to Zinsky's home next. We need to find him now."

The harried captain glared at the both of them. "I told you on the phone. He didn't come in today. I suspended him yesterday. But if he did something, you can blame yourselves for harassing him. He's not the kind of man who backs down."

Deakins turned and surveyed the squad room. Raising his voice, he asked for the attention of the room. "A detective has disappeared. Many of you know her, Alexandra Eames. We know she's been hurt, and we have no idea how much time she has. Zinsky's your colleague. I understand that. I wouldn't be too helpful if a bunch of cops out of their jurisdiction started climbing all over my precinct either. But you know Zinsky; you know what kind of man he is. This will end badly. No way around it." He stopped and licked the edge of his lip as if searching for the right words. "She is a good cop, one of the best. And she's a good person. People who know her know that. Help us find her. Help us save her…and him."

You could have heard a pin drop in the room. Detectives looked at one another and then a murmuring rose among them. Finally a young detective, someone who had probably never met her, stepped forward. "He hangs out at Bunny's."

"We know that. We have squads posted there."

Carver grew impatient. "If you hinder this investigation, I will prosecute you to the limit of the law. I promise you."

"He's got a girl on the side. She lives in a high rise on 3rd."

Deakins pointed at him. "I need an address and a name!"

Detectives looked at one another and people began moving.

Goren closed his eyes. This is when he would focus; feel the room, understand the man, but he couldn't. He couldn't feel anything but the edge of panic that had overtaken his gut. Logan looked up from the desk. "Goren! Wake up. Check the shelves on the wall."

"There's nothing here."

"Bobby, don't do this. I'm not doing this alone."

Goren looked around the room once more. "He doesn't plan much, he's impulsive, distractible, probably hasn't completed a piece of paperwork in his life."

Logan stood up. "This means what?"

"He did this without thinking. Got in his car, lured her down the back, hit her and drove her away."

"What do we focus on then?"

"He has a woman in the car and he needs a safe house. Where does he go?"

"The girlfriend."

Goren grimaced. "Really?"

"Depends. Maybe she's young…a submissive. She'll do anything for him. Alex said he likes women like that."

Goren walked to the door of the office. "Hey! I need those bank records."

Deakins barked at a detective and who went to a computer. Carver rolled his eyes and grabbed the phone to get the warrant.

…………………………………………………………………………………..

An hour later, Goren was leaning over a young, blonde woman in a tank top and jeans. She had started out defiant, arms crossed. She said she had nothing to say. Didn't know Robert. Logan came out of her bedroom with Robert's badge and she crumbled.

"Tell me what he said exactly."

"You don't know. Robert can hurt me, and there's no where for me to go."

"He's a cop. I know. But we're cops and we're here, and I promise nothing will happen to you." Bobby gritted his teeth as soon as he said. He had something similar to Alex just the day before.

"He was really angry about a woman named Alexis, I think. She, um, really hurt him, and tried to ruin his career a long time ago. And then she found out he was back, and she is trying to ruin him all over again."

"First off, her name is Alexandra Eames and she's a cop too. Patty, you know what Robert does when he's mad. She was his girlfriend once, and she knows too. But Alex got fed up. She knew she deserved better than being beat up and threatened. She left him and when he wouldn't leave him alone, she fought back. And she won. How do you think Robert felt about that? You really think he was willing to just let it go? Tell me Patty, what do you think?"

"He's not a bad man. He's been through a lot. Maybe she didn't understand him."

Bobby grabbed her shoulders and focused on her face. He felt her shiver, but he refused to let go. "He's a bully and he hurts women, and I can see in your face that he hurts you. You can tell yourself it's not his fault all you want, but I want you to imagine that he has her right now, and there's blood because she fought him and she's scared. She doesn't have her weapon. Imagine what she's feeling. He has all of this anger because she's the one woman who fought back, and Robert's women aren't supposed to do that, right?"

Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she heaved a sob. "He said he was going to take of her for good. I was hoping it didn't mean what I thought it did."

"Where would he take her?"

"I don't know. He doesn't tell me a lot of things. He says I can't keep my mouth shut."

"Can you reach him?"

"No, when he left this afternoon, he said that he'd call me. He was specific that I was not to call him."

Bobby sat back for a moment, his brow creased. "Patty, he left this afternoon? What time did he come and what time did he leave?"

"He showed up at around 9 this morning and he left at about 2."

Bobby slammed his hand down on the table. "That's not possible! Alex was taken at noon. Patty, you're not thinking."

"I don't know. I was out of it, but I'm sure that he left at 2. I watch General Hospital and he was leaving when it started."

"What do you mean 'out of it'.

Patty looked away, but Logan came strolling in with a bag of needles. Bobby grabbed her arms and looked them over. "Where are the tracks Patty?"

"I don't…that's not my stuff."

He grabbed hold of her and shook her. "Patty!"

Terror filled her eyes. "In my thigh. I shoot up in my thigh."

He let go of her, certain he had bruised her. "I apologize. I understand that you were out of it. Maybe you're not sure about the times."

"I don't know. I thought I was. Sometimes I hallucinate. Maybe it was a different day where he left at 2. I get confused."

Bobby dragged his hand over his face and walked away. Logan watched him walk out of her apartment and onto the sidewalk. He kept pacing back and forth, rubbing at his eyes. Logan waited a few minutes before he went out. "Bobby, I gotta call while you were talking to Patty. Desk sergeant gave a description of the woman who told him to send Alex out. She's a Hispanic female, early 30's, long hair, and she has a scar on her forehead."

Bobby stopped and stared at him. "Call them and tell them to show him a picture of Bettina Garcia."

Logan nodded. "I thought of that. Waiting for the call back."

"Bettina wasn't the distraction, she was the weapon." Bobby turned and headed to the car. Logan sprinted after him.

…………………………………………………………………………..

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks for reading! This fic moves fast, and I appreciate the attention you are giving it. I hope you like all the characterizations. I have tried to find room for everyone here. Thanks for responding. It really helps me stay inspired!

Sheila

**Something Precious **

**Chapter 6**

"Bettina must know Zinsky," said Logan gripping the dashboard. Goren was driving and Logan was hoping that his airbag would deploy if he needed it.

"What if he doesn't?"

Logan frowned at Goren. "What? Zinsky's a smoke screen? I don't think so. I have seen the look in that man's eyes. He would kill her if he had the chance. Hey, where are we going?"

"Alex's place."

………………………………………………………………….

Bobby turned the key in the lock and walked in slowly, gun drawn. Logan was right behind him. He didn't hit lights, but the light from the hallway caught the glint of steel.

"Zinsky! Put it down. We know you're in here."

Goren heard a rustling and moved toward the wall. Logan turned left into the kitchen, and Bobby hit the light. A form disappeared from the living room, and there were shouts from the kitchen. Goren reached the door and Zinsky was on the floor, Logan's foot in the middle of his back. There was a large butcher's knife on the floor beside him, and Goren kicked it away. Zinsky tried to squirm away, but Logan put gun in this face and started screaming abuse. Goren quickly cuffed and rolled him over and Zinsky started screaming at him. "I was waiting for her! Just to talk! Just to talk!"

"What about that?" Logan gestured at the knife.

"I didn't have my service revolver. I heard you come in. Knew it wasn't Lexie. I grabbed it for protection."

Goren narrowed his eyes. "In the bedroom I'm going to find equipment. You were waiting for her so that you could show her the error of her ways. It was going to feel good making her cry, beg, beating her. You've been dreaming about this for a long time. You were so ready. Then you would just go back to Queens and damn the investigation that would follow. You've seen too many circumstantial cases fall apart with the right defense attorney, and God knows you probably have a good one all lined up. Getting off would be the final "Fuck you!"

"Where's Alex?" Logan put a foot on his neck.

Zinsky gave him a confused look. Goren saw this and cursed, slamming a hand into a kitchen cupboard. Then he walked out of the room. Logan gave Zinsky a swift kick and followed. Goren stood at the living room window. The skyline was lit up with the night time commerce of the busy city. He felt Logan next to him. "Bettina is the weapon. Zinsky is the distraction."

Logan considered this for a moment. "She didn't do it alone."

"No, she didn't."

"Hey! How'd you know he'd be here?"

"I didn't, but the prick has no imagination. If he wanted Alex, he would take her here."

"You don't think he knows anything, do you?"

"No, he's mean son of a bitch who hates women; his kind are never any good for the kind of plans Nicole sets in motion."

"Damn! Last thing this case needs is another twist." Logan left, pulling out his cell and punching in Deakin's number.

Bobby stayed at the window for awhile. There were so many thoughts clambering for his attention, but the ones that fought to the front were the sensations; the smell of her skin and her hair, the feel of her stomach as he encompassed it with his large hands, the look in her eyes when he promised her she would be safe.

He hadn't allowed himself to consider the possibility that Bettina killed her and dumped her some place. The truth of it would destroy him; it would surely unleash the madness he had fought off these many years. Out of the corner of his eye he saw picture frames on a table. He moved over to look and saw her with her family; her brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, parents. Then he saw another frame off to the side. It was a picture of him. It was a black and white, clearly a crime scene photo, but somehow it didn't focus on anything but him. He had that intense look that he wore at a crime scene, wearing his grey worsted and three days of stubble. It was actually a nice photo, it captured him well. He picked it up and slid off the back. There was a little note that said, "Here it is Alex. I'll let you know the next time he takes a good one. Sheri."

He put it back in the frame, and tried to return it exactly where he found it. Deakins had arrived, and Zinsky and Logan were arguing hotly as Zinsky told the captain about being brutalized. Logan finally burst out with, "I kicked him right there, and I'd do it again. Charge me! Hell, put him back on the floor and I'll demonstrate."

……………………………………………………………………………….

It was dark when she woke. She was cold, lying on a dirty mattress, one hand cuffed to the radiator. She tried to move her muscles, but her side exploded with pain and she let out a loud moan. Gently, she brought up her free hand and touched the wound. There was a clumsy bandage on it, and she could tell that the wound itself hadn't been treated.

She was still in the boroughs. The sound of traffic, radio, and people were the kind of cacophony only found in New York City. She noted that the voices she heard were speaking Spanish, and she went over all the different Latin enclaves she could think of. Her mouth felt like cotton, her throat raw. She wondered if there was bleeding internally, and decided that since it was out of her hands, she wouldn't put her energy into those thoughts.

She heard noises in the next room, and a wave of panic rose in her. The door opened, and Bettina looked in. "I thought I heard something. You're awake, huh?"

It took all of her will to keep from breaking down and begging for her life, but she wasn't ready to be the victim quite yet; she was still Detective First Class, Major Case Squad. "I need medical treatment, Bettina."

The woman chuckled and shook her head. "Not part of the plan."

"What is your plan? I lay here until I bleed out."

The woman reached over to test her cuffs. "I haven't gotten the final word."

Alex licked her lips. "There isn't going to be a final word, 'Tina. She's in lockdown. She's not going to call."

"She'll call."

Alex shook her head, struggling to maintain eye contact. "No, 'Tina, she won't. We have a court order. She's in lockdown until they find you. It could be weeks. You're going to have to start using your head. You have choices now. You can walk away from this. You can run. Do it now. Call 911 at a bodega. Then take off. I bet you have a place to hide."

Tina snorted. "You're a real smart lady, huh? I don't think so. I'm getting paid. I don't do no charity work. We'll wait 'til she calls."

"I'll be dead by then."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Then I guess that's the new plan." She turned and walked out the door, closing her back into darkness.

…………………………………………………………

Eat!" Logan gestured at the large ranch breakfast in front of Bobby. The all night diner was almost deserted; too late for the partiers and two early for the 6 a.m. crowd. "I'm not taking you back to the squad until you do."

"Jesus, Logan, I already got a mother."

You haven't eaten in 24 hours. No idea when the next meal is coming. The task force isn't meeting for another hour so you're going to feed that big brain of yours. We're going to need it."

Bobby glared at him, but picked up a fork and focused his attention on the eggs.

"That's right, eggs are good brain food," Logan said, a coffee cup in his hand, the remains of his own breakfast long eaten.

Bobby shot him a look, but Logan ignored him. "You really think they're going to have Nicole up here by 7 a.m.?"

Bobby shrugged. "Carver says so. He can make it happen."

"I've never met her."

"And you're not going to either."

"You're not going in alone."

"Carver knows her and is completely immune to her charms."

"Hey! Come on. She's not going to suck me in."

Bobby shook his head. "Doesn't matter. She doesn't need a new toy to play with. You'll be a distraction. She'll want to know about you. It'll waste time."

"All right. Good enough for me." Logan sipped his coffee and stared out the window for a few minutes. "I haven't known her long, but she's a good detective and a good woman. We're going to find her, and she's going to be fine. This Nicole as you describe her, I keep thinking that she's probably a micromanager. I bet she needs to make all the decisions; has to make sure everything is just so."

Bobby stopped eating and cocked his head. "I think Nicole is very much a micromanager. I imagine she's quite anxious about now. I think you're right, Mike. She wouldn't want them to finish until she had a chance to see me again. She wants them to wait until we talk."

"Are you sure we shouldn't stall this?"

"If she's alive, then Nicole is looking for something from me. Some humiliation; some indication that she's beaten me, destroyed me."

Logan looked down at his coffee. "You really care about her. And I'm not talking about Nicole here."

Bobby ignored him and returned to his food.

"You get the big cases 'cause you're an encyclopedia and Freud wrapped into one person. I get the big cases 'cause I'm all instinct. I don't remember the last time I was wrong about a suspect. I can feel 'em. My old boss, Anita Van Buren, over in homicide used to say I should try the ponies. If I read them like people, she said she'd give me her life savings." He grinned until he saw the despair in his eyes. "Bobby, you love her. She loves you. Together, you have a language all your own. I respect it, admire it, and probably, I envy it. I have some feel for what's at stake here. Right now, I figure my job is to keep you focused. You know how to play the kind of game she's bringing to the table. You keep your eye on her. I'm going to find Garcia's family, and then I'm going to kick in some doors. One of us is finding her today. I can feel it."

Bobby let out a deep breath. "You haven't had any sleep."

"I like beer, Irish beer. Imported stuff is the best. When this is over, you're going to go down and buy me the most expensive case of Irish beer you can find. Got it?"

A grin tugged at Bobby's mouth but it couldn't hold so he shook his head and finished his meal.

……………………………………………………………

Carver looked Goren over when he walked into the squad. The man looked like he'd come off a three day drunk. He could never hide his exhaustion well. "Are you ready for this?"

"Is she in there?"

Carver nodded.

"Let's do it."

Carver followed him in. He noticed that Bobby didn't even look at her. He just walked past and started pacing across the table from him. For once, Nicole did not look her best. Four days without a shower didn't suit her and she knew it. "Bobby!" she snapped. "You haven't been playing fair."

Bobby snorted but didn't address her.

Carver looked down at her. "Ms. Wallace, I think we won't dwell on what's fair and not fair right now."

She turned to look at him. "Why are you here? Bobby, he's the most humorless man. He'll be nothing but a bore."

Bobby stopped and put his hands on the table, leaning into her. "You have me, Nicole. You name the game. I'm yours. Tell me what you want. I'll give you anything."

She couldn't stifle a grin. "You really are desperate. Okay then, get me out of jail and buy me a nice flat in the city. How's that?"

He shook his head. "You need to pick something I have control over. You know that. You want the condo, you got it. You want my life. You can have that too."

"Bobby, you've overwhelmed me here. I've never seen you like this. I should have expected it. I heard about poor Alex, and undoubtedly, you've decided that I'm behind it all; from solitary even."

"Ms. Wallace, we can prove a connection between you and Ms. Garcia. We've traced phone calls that you've placed to her after she was released. We will find her alive and she'll talk to us, and I will send you so deep into the system that you'll never see the light of day again."

She glared at him. "I don't have any worries about that, Mr. Carver. Tina has a long history of lying and even setting people up with her lies. She probably found out about Detective Eames from our nightly chats. She hates police. It's well documented. She had a name and a vendetta. I can't be responsible for what she chooses to do."

"Nicole," Bobby said staring at her intensely. "Your rules. Tell me what you want."

"You love her, don't you?"

"Shall we play our game?" His efforts at nonchalance fell flat.

"Yes, let's. You start."

"I do love her. She's been my friend and my support and she doesn't want to change me."

"Have you slept with her?"

He wagged a finger at her. "No, no, no. Your turn."

"I can be patient, but you're not getting away with that one. All right. Here's something you don't know about Tina. She has been talking to someone about renting some property, but I don't know who. It's your turn and it better be good."

Bobby steeled himself. It was all he could do to not put his hands on her and squeeze for all he was worth. He looked down at the table. She wasn't going to settle for morsels. His career meant nothing to him in this moment. "You want to know if I've slept with her, and the answer is yes. Two nights ago was the first time. You brought us together Nicole. How does that make you feel?"

Carver let out a breath but stayed quiet.

"I'm all tingly and happy for you. But it's just rather sad you waited that long. What if that will be your only memory of her skin?"

"Tell me something more about Bettina that I don't know," he growled, unable to meet her eyes.

"Carlos isn't her boyfriend anymore. I think she was dating a cop."

He slammed his hands on the table. "More!"

She rolled her eyes. "You're not pacing yourself very well, Bobby, but I understand the circumstances. I don't remember his name…although I think it was Irish. Now tell me something. How will you survive her loss?"

He stared into her eyes, "I won't. Next question. Tell me more about the cop."

"Tina knew him from way back; from her days in Queens."

"What do you want to know?"

She ignored him and turned her head to Carver. "Now, let's discuss what you can give me. Clearly, I am an innocent bystander. Tina is acting on her own. I would like to know what my cooperation gives me. You know, it is very dangerous to inform on an inmate."

Carver sat back and stared at her. "You are quite possibly the most unnerving person I have ever met."

She threw back her head and laughed. Then she leaned toward him. "Counselor, I might be able to cooperate in a way that helps your detective. In order to do that, I need protections. I need you to understand that I knew nothing about what she was planning, and I need it in writing."

"I'll have you up on charges of obstruction!"

"Yes, Mr. Carver. I will hardly survive the extra three months that adds to my sentence."

He looked around the room and smirked. "Well, Ms. Wallace, your offer deserves consideration. I'll go and think about it, and be back here this afternoon."

"You're the key, Mr. Carver. Nothing more happens until we talk again. I just hope poor Alex has that kind of time."

He closed his eyes and swallowed. For a moment, it looked like he was going to speak, but then he got up and abruptly left the room.

Nicole turned and smiled at Bobby. "Shall we play some more?"

Bobby stared at her with weary eyes, and waited for the next assault on his privacy.

………………………………………………………………………………….

Alex drifted in and out of consciousness. She dreamed vividly, and at times, it felt like she was somewhere safe and warm. Sometimes she thought she could hear Bobby. His voice was soft like it always was with her. He said, "I love you" into her ear just like she heard it in his bed, and she remembered the absence of fear she felt in that moment. There was only a feeling of contentment; a sense that what was meant to be had finally arrived. In her dreams, Bobby reminded her that she was strong and brave, and it helped her feel hopeful.

Then she would wake and feel the cold, and the desperate aching would return, drowning her sanity. Her mouth felt like glue and swallowing was agony. She tried to shift, but the pain was too much, and she struggled to find a comfortable position, but there wasn't one. She had to settle for staying as still as possible until the worst had passed.

She could hear the TV in the next room. Bettina had spent the day watching talk shows, the sounds of screaming family members penetrated the thin walls. A phone rang and the sounds of television disappeared. She could hear Bettina's voice clearly, "Its okay, Baby. Everything is good. Everything is going just like we wanted…I'm just waiting to hear…Yeah, she's still alive, I think. I haven't checked in a few hours…Baby no, I wait for Nicole, she has to give the number of the bank account…We can trust her…You gotta stay calm. It's almost over. It'll be so perfect. In 48 hours we're going to be at the resort with money to burn, and all the hassle we've been through will be over…You don't owe them anything, Baby. They have screwed with you for 15 years, and they don't even care…I care…Okay, Baby, I hear you. If I don't hear from Nicole by midnight, I'll finish this myself. I'll have to fool Nicole and that's hard to do, but I'll do it for you Baby. I'll do anything for you…Carlos has been taken care of. I dropped him on Avenue B after we got her up here. He's got so much blow right now, and it's special stuff, Baby. In a couple of hours, he won't be a problem for anybody anymore…Stay cool. You and I are finally going to get the life we deserve…I love you…Don't call me. I'll call you after its over…I have the same knife, Baby. If she's already gone, I'll probably have to stick her once"

The nausea growing in Nicole was fueled by the woman's description of her impending murder. It was surreal to hear the matter-of-fact way in she talked about it. Alex felt the bile rising in her throat, and her body lurched over the side of the cot. Pain radiated everywhere, and she had to clutch the edge to keep from slipping over. She was still handcuffed to the radiator, but didn't know if she had the strength to pull herself back onto the cot. Her body heaved, and she found herself moving in and out of darkness, and for a moment she thought this was the end. Her face hung over the edge and she struggled to breath. Below her was the cold, dirty floor. Her coat had been pulled off and lay on the ground below her. She desperately wished she had the strength to pick it up and drape it over herself. Making these last hours more comfortable seemed worth the effort, but any straining in that direction was excruciating. For a moment, all she could do was stare at the coat. Then, she noticed something which had edged itself out of her coat pocket. A sense of urgency flooded through her as she recognized her cell phone. At first, it seemed inconceivable that they wouldn't have searched her pockets, but then she remembered how often it happened this way with criminals. She had worked many cases where the most obvious things were left undone. She doubted it was on. It probably turned off the moment it hit the floor. It wouldn't be easily reached if it could be reached at all.

………………………………………………………………………………

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Wow! This fandom doesn't have the readership of others I have written for, but the reviews I have gotten are very nice; some of them quite detailed. I treasure them a lot. Thank you. The story is winding down. I am in school again, and shouldn't be devoting time to fanfiction. However, I find that it is when I want to write it the most. In any event, there will be one more chapter after this which I will post on Sunday. And then I must force myself to break and focus on homework. Thanks to those of you who take the time to make my day brighter with your thoughts.

Sheila

**Something Precious **

**Chapter 7**

Logan paced back and forth in the interrogation room. It was a worn room, paint peeling off the wall, and the slight smell of urine that no amount of bleach could purge. He was in unfamiliar territory, taking over a room at the Queens precinct, but Deakins called and said that Bettina was involved with an Irish cop here, and he was going to play a hunch the only way he knew how.

He stopped pacing and leaned on the table across from his suspect. "Frankie, I gotta feeling about you. I just feel like I can relax now 'cause we got this wrapped up."

Desk sergeant Frank Ryan leaned back in his chair. "I will say this one last time. We don't talk until my union rep gets here."

"You don't have to talk. Probably not going to need anything out of you at all. The evidence just keeps falling from the sky."

Logan threw a file on the desk. "Bettina's file tells me everything I need to know. Starting five years ago, your handwriting is all over this thing. She's gets brought in on charges, including a murder rap, and it gets pleaded down to almost nothing. How'd that happen? I see a form WH-2 in here telling me that some evidence went missing. Pretty convenient, huh?"

"You said this woman fingered an Irish cop. You think I'm the only one in Queens?"

"You're the only one that keeps popping up everywhere. Zinsky starts to unravel, and you manage to have a front row seat to every scene. It's kind of creepy, huh? You come off as a supportive friend, but I hear that you've been passed over for the Lieutenant spot three times. You paid your dues, and then he walks back in with a dirty record and takes your job."

"I understood. It's not his fault."

"Frank, they say you didn't get the job because you're a bitter man. I also hear that you've been in too many situations where things happened, evidence disappeared, witnesses disappeared."

"I'm not talking about this with you."

"Like I said; it doesn't matter. All of her phone records and visitor logs from Dannemora should be coming off the fax any minute now. Why don't we just wait for that?"

The older cop looked down at the table. "You can't prove anything."

Mike leaned in. "You bet I can, and we're going to put you away so long that you're going to forget what she looks like."

Mike watched the panic grow on Ryan's features. The man was in the corner and needed a way out. "Tell me what you know now. We can still find her alive. Murder's off the table. We know you didn't have anything to do with Regina Jones' death."

"You think I'm an idiot; you think I don't understand interrogation techniques."

"Frankie, the math is simple. You help us, and we are less inclined to destroy you. It's just psychology, Buddy. Right now, you gotta make a decision. Do we have anything we can use? You could take a chance that we don't, but we've haven't even begun to search your house or pull your bank statements or your phone records. All of that will be happening. You want to just sit there and let it happen? Go ahead."

"I need guarantees."

"You make me fight for information when her life is in the balance, and I won't forget it."

"Eames has until midnight, but I don't know where Bettina has her."

Logan pounded the table. "I want all of it now!"

"I don't know where she is. I can call her, but I made it clear I didn't want to know."

"So this is true love, huh, Frankie?"

"Pick up the damn phone, Frankie!"

"She told me not to call her so this is not a good idea. She'll be suspicious."

"Just keep her on the phone for 2 minutes." Logan got to the door and started calling for assistance. Within fifteen minutes, tracing was set up. Logan handed Ryan the phone, and the man swallowed and then dialed her number. A few beats later, he hung up. "She's not answering."

Logan grabbed him by the shirt. "Not good enough!"

Ryan looked away. "If she has to kill Eames, then my guess is that she's getting high right now. She's probably in a bathroom with a needle."

Logan dropped the man back into his chair. "You're never going to set foot on free soil again, Ryan. Think about it." Without waiting, he nodded at the Queens detective, and walked out the door.

…………………………………………………………………….

Deakins knocked on the door before opening it. Goren sat across from Nicole, his head in his hands, staring at her intently. Nicole sat back and regarded him with a blank look on her face. Deakins gestured at Bobby, and he scraped the chair away from the table. Dark circles under his eyes had grown steadily over the last two hours.

Nicole tossed her hair and looked at Deakins, "Don't keep him too long."

Deakins gave her a hard look. Sparring with not a strength of his, and he had no interest in learning the rules of her particular games. He glared at her until Bobby was out the door, and then left without a word.

Bobby wheeled around. "Anything?"

Deakins nodded and gestured at his office. Bobby shuddered slightly and seemed to hesitate. "It's okay, Bobby," he said softly and led him inside, closing the door behind them. "Logan had a hunch. The inside man was Frank Ryan."

Bobby nodded. "He's involved with Bettina."

"Yeah. Logan broke him, but he doesn't know where Bettina has her stashed. Logan doesn't think its an act."

"Has he tried to call her? Can he lure her out?"

"She's not answering. We have a team on him, and they're calling every fifteen minutes." Deakins fixed his gaze on a picture above Goren's head. "Bobby, she told him she would kill Alex if she hadn't heard from Nicole by midnight."

Instinctively, Bobby turned to the clock and noted that it was 7:45 p.m. "Where's Carver?"

"I've updated him. He's on his way down."

Bobby dropped his eyes to the floor and the silence between the two men was electric.

Deakins finally asked, "Do you think Nicole knows something that can help us find her?"

Bobby shook his head slowly. "I don't think she knows."

"Can she help us find Alex?"

"She could call Bettina, but she won't. It would implicate her."

"Unless we give her full immunity."

Goren snorted, "Carver's really going to go for that."

Deakins nodded. "It would be a hard sell. No doubt about it. We have no idea if she would even follow through."

"Right."

They stood in his office like statues, one of the leaning against the wall and the other against his desk. In that moment, there was nothing they could do but be there lost in their own desperate thoughts.

……………………………………………………………..

The cot teetered as her weight shifted over the edge. She bit the insides of her mouth to stifle the screams and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. Every few seconds, it would get too much, and she would sag against the edge, her vision starting to gray.

She took three deep breaths and lunged. Her fingertips touched the edge of her coat and she clawed at it. The wool coat slid toward her and she snatched up the phone and painfully rolled back onto the middle of the cot. For a few minutes, the pain and strain fought for her consciousness, and she struggled to focus. She finally able to see the display on the phone and she turned it on. A light flashed a low battery warning on the screen, and she groaned. If she was lucky, she would get through one phone call, and she knew she had to make it count.

…………………………………………………………………………………

It was 8:30, and four men sat in Deakin's office. They had gone over the events one last time, and found themselves stuck. The idea of giving Nicole full immunity was so repulsive that not even Bobby was willing to fight for it. None of them trusted that Nicole could play a straight hand even if she had immunity.

The phone on Bobby's belt buzzed and he put it to his ear. The connection was static filled, and he was ready to hang up when he heard her voice. "Bobby, Bobby, I need help…"

"Alex! You have a phone. Are you okay?" He was standing, and the other three men gathered around.

"I'm not. I'm hurt and Bettina's going to kill me. I have 'til midnight. This phone's a lucky break, but it's dying. I'm not sure how long I can hang on."

Bobby's breath caught. "Honey, do you know where you are?"

"No. Spanish is all I know. I hear it out in the streets. Apartment building. It's a dump. It's cold."

"Okay, you gotta hang on. We're going to get a trace. Okay?" Bobby gestured wildly at his colleagues. Deakins ran to his desk, and barked at someone to rush the equipment up. Logan took off out the door to hurry that request.

"I'm hurt bad. They stuck me in the side. There's so much pain. I think I'm bleeding inside. Frank Ryan's a part of this, and Carlos Gregory."

"We got Frank. Don't worry. We're coming for you."

"I heard Bettina talking to Frank. I have until midnight."

"Bettina's not answering her phone. Do you know where she is?"

"No, I don't. It's been quiet the last hour." A groan escaped as pain radiated up her side.

Bobby looked at the ceiling for a moment. "Alex, please, Alex, you gotta hold on. What else do you know?"

"Bettina said she dropped off Carlos on Avenue B with some blow. I think it's tainted. She was telling Frank that he wouldn't be a problem after tonight."

Shouts erupted, and they could see Logan dragging the technicians over to a desk. Deakins went out to calm Logan who was heaping abuse at the merely human Trace technicians. Deakins got him to back off and they began to pull together equipment."

"Hey, Alex, we're ready for the trace. You stay with me, and I'll have you out of there in an hour."

There was silence on the other end and Bobby panicked. "Alex! Alex!"

"I can't hear you so good. Bring paramedics with you, okay?"

He suppressed a sigh of relief. Deakins signaled for him and he strode out to the squad to hook up with Trace. "Honey, talk to me. I need to hear you."

The crackling grew louder. "I'm tired, Bobby. I'm going to miss you so much. We almost had our chance, didn't we?"

"Alex, you're going to be okay. I'm coming for you. You can't leave me. Promise me that you're hanging in. Promise me."

The crackling turned to static. "Alex! Please talk to me. Please, Alex." Then the phone died, and Bobby looked at the technicians, but they shook their heads, and he turned around and gripped the desk tightly, roaring, "No!"

…………………………………………………………………………

Logan hung up the phone and turned to them. "Every Narcotics detectives in three precincts is heading to Avenue B. There are about five flop houses we have to search. These guys will call in favors. We're going to get him. Probably only take an hour or two." He grabbed his coat and sprinted for the stairs.

Carver turned to Deakins and Bobby. "You really want to give her full immunity?"

"No!" Bobby shook his head vigorously.

"I don't think we have a choice," Deakins countered.

"Of course, we have to do it, but I don't want to," Bobby couldn't control the fidgeting that had taken over his body. His fingers were shaking as he lifted his hand to make a point, and so he stuffed both hands in his pockets. "Nicole has no intention of honoring any deal we give her. Her intention is to make the deal and still get what she wants."

Carver nodded and then looked down. For a few minutes, they all stood silently, unable to complete the discussion. Deakins looked up first. "I won't sit here, and not do anything. That woman has been nothing but heart and hard work and the best female cop I ever worked with. We have to try."

Bobby nodded. "We have to do this right. No screw ups. She can't afford it." His face twitched, and for a moment, it looked like he might break, but he rubbed his hand over his face, scrubbing away his emotions. Then he walked away from his colleagues, and they watched him go, knowing he was going to stand in front of that interrogation mirror again and stare at Nicole.

……………………………………………………………………………

Logan paced back and forth as paramedics worked feverishly on the man laying on the floor of the abandoned tenement. In the corner, three people huddled, hands cuffed behind their backs.

Logan barked at the paramedics again. "Can he talk? Is he going to make it?"

Again, they ignored him. Carlos had stopped moving before the paramedics even arrived. He was in the second place they raided. A lucky break until they tried to wake him. His cold, clammy skin told Logan a story he didn't want to hear. Now he was living on the faith of Catholic altar boy, hoping beyond hope that Carlos was going to sit up and hand him an address.

"Logan!" He turned around to find one of the Narcotics detectives pulling along a kid barely out of his teens. "Victor here says Carlos was sort of chatty before he OD'd."

Logan advanced on him. "You help me out, Victor, and I will pay for the best rehab in the state."

The kid's eyes widened. Treatment was hard to come by for folks without insurance. Most junkies had to wait months even when they wanted to get in. Logan ignored the exclamation that came out of the other detective's mouth. "I mean it, Victor. This is real important. You give me the right information, and I can help save a good friend of mine. It means a lot to me."

The kid stuttered in his eagerness to start. "He said he had a big day. Did a job. Stuck some girl. Bragged about it. Said he was one cold assassin. Said his girl had set him up with premium blow and that he was going to get paid enough to fly high every day from now on."

"Did he say anything about where they were staying?"

"Um, he said his girl doesn't like him trippin' at home because he wrecks things."

"That it?" Logan couldn't hide the disappointment on his face.

The kid shrugged. "Ah, I think he asked a guy what bus was going to get him back to Marquesa street."

Logan grabbed the kid by the arms. "I don't go back on my promises. If this makes a difference, you can write your own ticket."

…………………………………………………………………………………..

"Games are over!" Goren announced as the technicians flooded past him and started setting up equipment in interrogation.

Nicole seemed startled. "We have no deal, Bobby."

"You'll get one, and you will call Bettina and stop this from happening."

Carver was the last to walk in. He placed his briefcase on the table. "No time for negotiations. I have the agreement. You get full immunity if we get Detective Eames back alive."

She made a face. "I don't think so. I have no control over what is happening to her at this moment. I would prefer to take my chances with a trial."

"We have Carlos and we have Frank. We even know what neighborhood they are in. You really picture Bettina walking away from this? You don't help us, and you're going down. And I'm going to be there when they shove the needle in your arm. You will be so pathetic. Just a shell. I can picture it now."

"Bobby, when did you become so crude?" Nicole's voice had gone up an octave.

"No time to think, Nicole. It is now or never. We have until midnight."

"I am not responsible for what Bettina does!" She slammed a fist down on the table.

Bobby was over the table and nose to nose with her. "Don't mess with me! You have one minute. We clean the slate, but you gotta stop Bettina."

"I want to see the agreement." Carver shoved it in front of her and her fingers were shaky as she picked it up.

Bobby licked his lips and waited. At one point, he slapped the table and she jumped. He walked around her, almost touching her, breathing hard. She flipped her head to look at him, and he stared coldly back at her. "There are no more games, Nicole. You and I are finished. Whatever the outcome, we're done. I will not deal with you again."

Nicole rubbed at a tear rolling down her chin. She narrowed her eyes at him. "You're a sore loser, Bobby."

Bobby snorted and backed away from her. "Just do it!"

She bit her lip and stared at the agreement for another minute, and then she signed it and shoved it away. Carver took it, looked it over and placed it neatly in his briefcase. "I believe you owe us a phone call."

Nicole picked up the phone they slid to her. She dialed and waited. The ring could be heard throughout the room as the system had been put on speaker. The phone went to voice mail and Nicole waited impatiently. At the beep, she said, "Bettina! It's Nicole. Pick up, Tina. It's time. We need to talk."

There was a click and then the heavy breathing of someone who ran to the phone. "Nicole! Damn girl, I've been waiting."

"Is everything good, Tina? Do you have her? Is she still alive?"

"It's good, Nicole. She's almost gone. I was going to finish her in a few minutes."

Bobby breathed in sharply and walked away from the table.

"No, Tina, I have other plans for her."

"Uh-huh. You promised me. No witnesses. I told myself I would never leave another witness. She knows my name."

Nicole rubbed at her eyes. "I have a new plan. Don't question me."

"We had a deal. I'm not going to take a dive for you."

"No, no, no, Tina darling, this is not what's happening. I have someone else coming for her. She'll be taken care of then. She won't be able to identify you. I promise, Tina."

There was silence on the other end. Bobby gripped the edge of the table.

"Tina, talk to me. You've done your part. It's time to go. The money's waiting for you. Pick up Frank, and take off. You've been dreaming about this."

"You're screwing me, Nicole! You're screwing me!"

"No, not true. Listen to me—" The phone clicked loudly over the speaker system. Nicole cursed loudly. She dialed again. There was no answer. Nicole pleaded and cajoled over the machine, but no one picked up.

Bobby dropped his head for a moment. Then he whirled around and headed for the door. Outside he looked at the clock on the wall. His stomach dropped as he noted the time. Deakins walked toward him. "Logan has squads driving up and down Marquesa. Teams are knocking on doors. We're checking rental records in the neighborhood. Trouble is, this is going to take much more time than we have."

Bobby didn't stop to listen. He grabbed his coat and headed for the door.

…………………………………………………………………………

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

9

A/N: Thanks for riding along with me. This was fun. I don't know when I will have time for another. My guess is that I will put words on paper again sooner than I probably should. I haven't decided if it will be for this show or another. I always stay fresher by switching back and forth, but at the same time, I am intrigued by Goren and Eames pretty intensely right now. I appreciate the commitments that many of you made to this story, and the comments you have made have really made a difference. I hope to be back soon.

Sheila

**Something Precious **

**Chapter 8**

Logan wasn't quite sure how he got to Marquesa in fifteen minutes, but there he was. There was no longer anything sane about Bobby Goren. His face looked absolutely frightening with fading bruises, thick stubble, and eyes that his Irish grandfather would have described as two pissholes in the snow. The nervous energy coming off him was intense, and Mike resisted an urge to put an arm out to steady him.

"She heard Spanish speaking voices. There's gotta be a bodega nearby."

"Yeah, we got the street narrowed down to three areas. The north end is pretty quiet, established home. The central area has a few stores and more transient housing. This south end is the busiest; several stores and almost 90 rentals."

"This is it then. Bettina needed a place where it was easy to find cheap, easy housing. She'd want a busier area so as not to call attention to herself." His nervous energy was intense.

Logan sighed. "It's still four blocks. I got six teams, three on each side of the street. They're knocking on doors looking for recent rentals."

Bobby scraped a hand over his stubble. He looked down at the map, and then returned his attention to the street. There was nothing else; no more clues, nothing for his big brain to puzzle over. "You and I are driving up and down this section. We're doing that until we find her."

Logan nodded. He folded the map in his pocket and headed for the car.

………………………………………………………………………..

Alex struggled to stay conscious. She heard Bettina's call with Nicole, and knew how escalated the woman had become. The stench of crystal meth wafted into the room, and Alex doubted that the woman would listen to reason. She had been able to pull her coat up over her, and she waited for the end to come.

It would have been easy to surrender to the darkness that lured her, but Alex was all fight. She would face Bettina when she opened the door. She would use whatever was left of her wits to fight her. Her body was stiff and painful, and she knew that she couldn't physically fight off an 8 year old. She still clutched the dead phone in her hand, but knew it was in no way an effective weapon.

For a moment, she let her thoughts drift to Bobby, and she felt sad for him. He would take this hard. She was finally able to admit that she had felt his love for a very long time. She knew he turned to her when he was frustrated; she was his best friend. Becoming lovers had been incredible, but their connection had never needed the physical intimacy to be intense.

She hoped he had remembered to call his mother. She expected a daily phone call, and Alex knew the woman got quite anxious when Bobby didn't deliver. She suspected Bobby hadn't called, and imagined that the woman was quite agitated by now. She thought about how if he was here right now, she could remind him. She had done that a couple of times during really intense cases, and he had always seemed to appreciate it.

She heard Bettina moving around and she suspected the woman was ready to come in. Alex tensed, raising the hand holding the phone. Bettina would surely bat it away easily. It was laughable, and she almost felt embarrassed to be holding it in this way. She heard voices from the street and cars honking, and she turned her head to the window. All she could see was the glare of the street lamp. She imagined she was about three flights up. She would scream, but there was no way that sound would carry to the street. Then she looked at her phone. It dawned on her that, in her hand, she had the means of making it to the street. She painfully twisted her body toward the window, biting her lips against the pain. Then she cocked her arm as best she could, and threw the cell phone at the window pane. The sound of shattering glass echoed through her wounded body.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Logan let Goren drive while he focused his attention on the traffic coming over his walkie talkie. He kept pushing them to go faster. The clock on the dash had 11:50, and while midnight no longer had any special meaning for Bettina, the time reminded him of how precious each moment was for Alex Eames. The radio crackled and he got a male voice, "Got a report of a window breaking on the next block. Just happened a minute ago."

"That's it!" Goren yelled.

"Give me a location now!" Logan barked. The response had the disturbance only half a mile from their current location. Bobby hit the gas and they squealed down the street.

A uniform met them at the curb. He pointed up at a broken tenement window three stories up. There was no light on in the room. Another cop came trotting up with the remains of a cell phone. Goren looked at the bent phone in the officer's hand, and then sprinted toward the building. Logan shouted at officers to follow, and he took off after Goren.

…………………………………………………………………………………

Bettina flung open the door. "What are you doing!"

Alex lifted her head. "I'm not going easy. This is my life and you have no right to it."

Bettina ran to the window and peered down. Then she stood up and let out a jagged breath. "They betrayed me. All of them. Carlos did. Frank did. Nicole did."

"Tina, you have a way out. Nothing is felony murder. All you have to do is surrender."

Bettina shook her head emphatically. "I'm not going back there. It's not happening. A person can't breathe in there. I deserve better than that. I deserve a chance. One chance!"

Alex's vision started to fade, and she struggled to stay alert. "I can help you, Tina. Let me help you."

Tears were streaming down her face when she turned to her. "What can you do? How can you help me?"

An incessant pounding happened outside the apartment door as if an army of people were charging up the stairs.

"Tina, put the knife down. Put the knife down and sit on the cot. I'll tell them that you were trying to help. I promise that I will try to help."

Bettina Garcia threw her head back and screamed all of the anguish of her life in one sound.

…………………………………………………………………………..

Bobby heard the screaming, and burst into the third floor hallway without proper cover. Logan came up behind him, doing his best to compensate for Bobby's recklessness.

"Which apartment?" Logan hissed.

Bobby closed his eyes, imagining the broken window. Then he opened them and pointed down the hall. Uniforms were beginning to pile into the hallway behind them. Logan and Bobby trotted down the hall, guns pointed at the ground. Bobby stood one side and Logan on the other. Bobby took a deep breath and yelled, "Police!"

Simultaneously, Logan backed up and kicked the door. Bobby rushed through. A door opened and a woman came out screaming, a knife held high above her head. A shot rang out. The woman continued to move, but was limp by the time she landed on Bobby. He turned to see Logan standing there, his gun carrying that soft metallic scent of discharge.

Bobby gently pushed the woman off of him. He got to the door of the bedroom and the fear was so great that he had to stop and exhale before he could enter. The room was dark, and cold air was filling the room from the broken window. She was in the corner. He recognized her coat by the light of the street lamp. A thin, pale wrist stuck out, attached to the radiator. He knelt beside the cot. Then he heard a noise, and turned to find Logan at the door. Logan saw the body in the corner, and started yelling orders at people. Yet he didn't cross the threshold into the room and Bobby could hear him telling other officers to stay out.

"Alex," he said in a whisper. "Don't leave me. I don't think I could survive that."

There was a distinct moan, and his breath caught. Her eyes fluttered open and searched the room. They stopped when they found Bobby. A grin tugged at the edges of her mouth. "I've been waiting."

His breathing was ragged, and he left his watering eyes and nose unchecked. He reached an arm across her torso and gently stroked her face. "Its okay, Honey. Mike's got a bus down the street. Paramedics should be here in just a minute."

"I'm hurt bad, Bobby."

He grinned at her. "You look just fine to me. But that's you; always trying to get a little attention, aren't you?"

She tried to smile but it came out as a grimace. "I thought about you a lot. I told myself that if these are my last moments, then at least I have the memory of our one night together."

His vision got blurry, and he looked down. Noise erupted in the next room. Paramedics flooded the room, and he found himself displaced. He watched from a corner of the room, and was relieved to find their urgency tempered once they took her vital signs.

………………………………………………………………………..

Logan was in the awkward position of having to comfort his new captain. When he had reported over the radio that there were two females; one wounded and one dead, he had neglected to clarify that Alex was the one who made it. Deakins had made the wrong assumption, and was now in the waiting room overwhelmed by the fact that one of his favorite detectives was in fact alive.

Logan stammered an apology, but Deakins wasn't paying attention. He just kept shaking his head and muttering thank yous under his breath. Logan didn't know what Deakins was saying to himself, but he thought he heard him making some promises toward better church attendance.

Carver showed up and slapped backs, a big grin on his face. He produced a bottle of Jameson out of his briefcase. Logan liberated some Dixie cups from the bathroom, and they furtively poured for everyone when there were no nurses in sight.

Bobby showed up, having been unceremoniously booted from the trauma center. He was very quiet, offering no resistance when Deakins spontaneously hugged him. Carver pressed a cup of whiskey into his hands and Logan led him to a chair. He sat down and stared at the small paper cup in his hands.

Logan's brow furrowed. "Something wrong there, big guy? Alex's okay, right"

Bobby nodded but didn't look up. "Alex is okay."

Deakins looked at Logan and gestured at him to leave Bobby to his thoughts. Carver clapped his hands. "So it'll be awhile before Alex can be seen. What say we go down to Manny's which is not two blocks from here, and have a nice big steak. It's on me."

Logan's eyes widened. "You got some deep pockets, Counselor."

"Not really, Detective. My cousin is the head chef. He does this for me, and I bail out of tax trouble every April. Believe me, he's getting the better end of that deal. The man can't keep a receipt to save his life."

"I'm in. I either eat or fall asleep right now." Deakins got up.

"Detective Goren?"

Bobby looked up. "I just want to stay and wait."

Logan frowned. "Bobby, you haven't eaten since I took you for breakfast yesterday."

"I'm okay. I'll eat in the cafeteria. This is really where I want to be right now."

Deakins nodded. "Call us if there's a change."

Bobby looked up and nodded. Deakins looked back at his detective once more before they went out the door. He looked like he could use a hospital bed of his own. Deakins had to resist the urge to go back and hound him until he went home and got some sleep and a shower.

Deakins knew Bobby's relationship with Alex had gotten complicated. His interrogation with Nicole had told Deakins far more than he wanted to know about his detectives' feelings for one another. Deakins had decided that he was going to do nothing with that information. Bobby had chosen to lay himself bare for the psychopathic Nicole in order to save his partner. Deakins had no intention of using that against him. He knew Carver had heard the same thing, but the ADA had always been the soul of discretion. It was not departmental policy to allow this relationship to continue, but Deakins knew he would never be able to take her away from Goren, and he had no interest in trying.

…………………………………………………………………………….

Alex groaned when the bright light hit her face. She squinted into the sun and then pulled a blanket over her head. "Stop it, Bobby!"

The response was soft chuckling and then the shifting of weight as he climbed into bed with her. "You have to get up sometime, Honey." He spooned her tightly and nibbled at the back of her neck.

"Did I really go back to work this week?" came a murmur from under the blanket.

"Uh-huh, and you overworked yourself." He softly bit the nape of her neck.

"Then why am I not allowed to sleep?"

"Because I've been up for three hours already and I'm getting restless. How about I promise you a nice nap this afternoon?"

She flipped the blanket off her face and rolled over to look at him. Her hair was sticking out about her head, and her eyes were still blurry with sleep. "Look at me, Bobby. Are you absolutely sure this is something you want to be in love with?"

He smiled broadly at her and reached out to fluff her hair. "Your bedhead is adorable. It reminds me of someone from an 80's hair band."

"Okay, you are entirely too pleasant for me. I can't compete. All I want to do is growl at you." She scrubbed a hand over her eyes.

"That could be fun," he said, gently teasing her earlobe with his teeth.

She giggled and struggled to sit up. The wound in her side was almost healed. There was still a dull ache sometimes when she moved, but she had come to accept the discomfort. She looked down at him. "What have you been doing all morning?"

"Mike made a promise to a kid about getting him into rehab. The kid gave us a good break, and Mike got a little overzealous. Idiot is too proud to say anything. I had to hear it from one of the Narc guys. Anyway, I have connections, and I've been on the phone trying to scholarship him into a program."

"And?"

"What can I say? He starts an inpatient program up in Syracuse on Monday. All Logan has to do is get him there. No doubt he'll be doing group with a number of Hollywood celebrities."

"That's nice."

"We have Zinsky's sentencing on Monday. I've been thinking about that. It's a lot right now. Are you sure you want to be there?"

She wrinkled her nose at him. "I'm not that fragile, Bobby. I have to be there. I have my victim's impact statement to give."

"Yeah, well, just checking. I just want things to be better for you."

She smiled at him. "You're a good man, Bobby Goren."

"You really think that?" Bobby lay flat on his back, looking up at her, his fingers trailing down her arm.

Alex ran her fingers through her hair and smiled. She ran a hand up the inside of his thigh and he groaned, folding his hand into hers. She gave him a look. "I have morning mouth, Bobby."

"Yeah, but it's my morning mouth." He tugged at her arm and brought her face down to his. He kissed her hard and long and she moaned. He rolled over on top of her and began one of his exquisite explorations of her body. He was an artist in these moments and Alex closed her eyes so she could better drink in the sensations. She trailed a hand below his stomach and then raised her hips to meet his, and together, the two of them began a dance they were starting to know very well.

Neither of them mentioned Nicole Wallace. The woman got her immunity, and had shipped back to Dannemora. Bobby refused to have anything to do with her after he left her in interrogation.

She had her agreement, but it didn't cover sanctions imposed by the prison, and Nicole was surprised to find that any attempted contact: letters, calls, emails, or even conversation with another inmate related to any detective from the Major Case squad would result in 90 days of lockdown.

It was a temporary reprieve and they all knew that. Nicole would surely find a way to grace their doorstep once again, but until then they were going to do the best they could to live the life they had chosen with one another.

**The End**


End file.
